Kingdom Hearts III :Xehanort's Ambitions
by The lost nobody of Kh
Summary: Xehanort has recently revealed his goals in KH: DDD, but what if there was an hidden motive he had in mind? One that involves Sora and his ability to forge the ultimate weapon. Picks up where KH DDD left off, and alters the fate of the worlds forever. Rating may change due to future content. Sora/Kairi, Riku/Xion, Roxas/Namine
1. Chapter 1: The Welcoming of Number XIII

**Kingdom Hearts III Xehanorts Ambitions**

WARNING: THIS CONTAINS MAJOR KINGDOM HEARTS DREAM DROP DISTANCE SPOILERS, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Author: So guess what I got a new story!

Sora: Oh geez you abandoned the other one practically what makes you think your going to keep up with this one.

Riku: I agree with brunette on this one, you suck at staying on schedule dude.

Author: This is true but you want to know what the difference is about this story and the other one is?

Sora: Ill give you one shot at explaining this…

Author: The difference is… there is no story line to follow I completely came up with this idea out of nowhere! And it allows me finally get creative with you guys…heh heh.

Riku: Oh god…please don't tell me there will be any yaoi in this…

Author: Hehehe nope! You get off scot free in this story Riku as for Sora however a much more interesting fate awaits him later on.

Sora: Should I be worried or excited?

Author: Eh. A little of both wouldn't hurt. So BE PREPARED!

Sora: (Begins to sweat nervously)

Author: Would someone care to take care of the usual chit chat?

Sora: F-f-f-fine. The Author here would like to inform all of you that he does not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney and all of their characters and worlds that might be included in this novel. Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix and Disney belongs to… umm who does it belong to again?

Riku: DISNEY! IT BELONGS TO DISNEY YOU TWIT!

Sora: Oh…right…I knew that.

Author: And without further ado I would like to present Kingdom Hearts: Xehanorts Ambitions.

Chapter 1 The Welcoming of Number XIII

A blue robed wizard sat at his desk in an ancient tower silently meditating, patiently waiting to arrive at an answer. His eyes were closed and in his silence he desperately sought for a way to save Riku and Sora from his greatest mistake ever.

"Master Yen Sid say something please!" Pleaded King Mickey.

The Master instantly opened his eyes at this sudden interruption. Just as he was about to speak however he was interrupted by a spiky red haired youth.

"The Mouse is right we need to take action now sitting here waiting for a solution to come to us is going to do nothing!" Commanded Lea, formerly known as Axel.

"May I speak now without interruption?" Said Yen Sid through clenched teeth.

Mickey and Lea bit their tongues and bowed out of respect. "Yes Master." They sighed.

"Good, yes indeed I am well aware that Sora and Riku have fallen into Xehanort's clutches and are in great danger at this moment. However I have detected that Riku is currently in the world that never was at this time, he is currently about to breach castle, all of you must go to his aide at once!

…

(Mean while at the World that Never Was)

Riku had only one objective on his mind, to save his best friend from a dark fate. He had just confronted his old nemesis Ansem and defeated a mysterious dark force that appeared to be keeping Sora locked in a nightmare, but even after all that struggle he returned to the real world without Sora. Riku softly treaded across the stone streets of the forgotten city. His footsteps gently echoed off of the skyscrapers surrounding him, but he wasn't paying attention to the buildings on the ground. Instead he was focused on the elegant white castle that was hovering above the city ruins, and for a way to infiltrate it.

"End of the road, huh?" He whispered to himself as he reached the edge of the road that led to the castle. Riku peered over the edge to see how far the fall would be. All that could be seen was an endless dark abyss. Regardless he continued speaking his train of though aloud.

"I know I'm back in the real world, but I still have my Dream Eater powers. This means… he still hasn't woken up. Where are you, Sora?" Riku continued to stare at the castle base until he heard a peculiar sound. "Huh?" Said Riku as he panned the area looking for the source.

"Mreow!" The sound repeated again followed by a high pitched whine. Riku gasped as he saw that a Meow Wow was sitting at the castle entrance rolling on its back, desperately trying to get his attention. Suddenly a Komory bat appeared behind him and perched itself on his left shoulder.

"I get it now." Said Riku as he stroked the Komory bats belly.

"Now, Dream Line!" Commanded Riku. The two dream eaters combined their powers together to form a guide rail path up to the castle. Riku jumped aboard it and sailed smoothly into the entrance where the Meow Wow was sitting. "Good job boy." He said to the Spirit as he patted its head. Riku gazed around the room as he thought of where they might be keeping him. "This old dump hasn't changed a bit." He said mockingly as he ascended a staircase that lead to the Organizations meeting room.

He cautiously entered the meeting room, preparing for a sneak attack at any moment until he spotted Sora dozing off in the lowest seated chair. "Sora!" He called out to him. Riku then ran to his friend's side however a dark portal opened almost instantaneously and out of its depths stepped Young Xehanort. The silver haired boy pointed his arm and Riku and emitted a dark force that knocked Riku off of his feet. Riku lay on the ground in shock from his attacker.

"Hands off my new vessel." Demanded Xehanort as he rose up onto the same platform as Riku. He began to make an effort to get back up

"Vessel?" Questioned Riku.

Xehanort nodded. "Yes. We originally had our sights set on you. But, you developed a certain… resistance to darkness. So we did what the Keyblade did, and moved down the list." Xehanort watched as Riku struggled to get to his feet, a cruel smirk formed on his face. "Roxas… Now, there was a worthy candidate. But unfortunately, he became too aware of himself, and returned to Sora. Organization XII's true goal is to divide Xehanorts heart among thirteen vessels. Thanks to you and Sora, we learned not all of our candidates were fit for the task. But we managed to make up the difference." He then glanced back at Sora and gestured towards him. "And now, Sora, the thirteenth vessel, is within our grasp."

Riku paused a moment to take all of this in. "Thirteen…Xehanorts?" He then gasped as more people warped into their seats around the room, each one of them was wearing an Organization cloak. Among the faces he recognized Xigbar, Ansem, and Xemnas as three of them, the rest kept their hoods on, keeping their identities concealed. "What is-"He tried asking.

"The real Organization XIII." Xehanort confirmed.

"The Organization?" Riku exasperated, he still couldn't believe what was happening.

"I am Xehanort from the most distant past. My future self gave me a task to visit the splintered versions of myself in many worlds, and ensure they gathered here today." Young Xehanort spoke eagerly, as if he were anticipating someone to arrive.

"They came from the past, but how?" Riku continued to look around the room in awe.

"There are restrictions to movement through time. First, you must leave your body behind to do it. Then, there must be a version of you waiting at the destination. Upon arrival, you can only move forward as per the laws of time. And you cannot rewrite the events that are destined t o happen." Young Xehanort continued droning on as he took a step towards Riku.

"What have you done?!" Demanded Riku. None of this seemed possible; Xehanort could travel through time and has been planning this meeting all along. A dark portal began to form on the superior's chair.

"My most future self will arrive soon. Then time for all of us will return to normal, and I will go back to my era to live the life fate has in store. He can vouch for that." Young Xehanort chuckled softly.

Riku was awestruck. He could not believe what was unfolding right before him, everything their was to know had finally been revealed before him. Suddenly a sharp white light entered the room and King Mickey landed right in front of Riku. The impact knocked Xehanort off his feet as Mickey cried out a spell. "Stopza!" A blinding white light occurred, causing Riku to shield his eyes.

Time surrounding them had been frozen. Mickey turned around to face Riku; a smile was upon his face. "I'm glad I'm not too late."

"Mickey!" Exclaimed Riku as he ran to the Kings side.

"Just grab Sora so we can go! I can't stop them for long!" Commanded Mickey. Suddenly Mickey was knocked off of the platform by a dark force. "Whoa!" He cried out as he hit the floor. Riku was in shock again, the King had been knocked unconscious, but how! Time had been frozen! Riku whirled around to discover Young Xehanort standing before him.

"I said HANDS OFF!" He snarled viciously. A dark power began emanating from him.

"How can you be moving?!" Interrogated Riku.

Xehanort held his hand before him and summoned his Keyblade. It had an ornate black handle with a bright blue beam blade protruding from it. Mickey regained consciousness and stood up to see what had happened.

"Oh no! Are you-"He started but was cut off.

"BEGONE!" Young Xehanort demanded in a dark tone. His yellow eyes glinted as he did so. The room began to darken around them and eventually swallowed all of the surroundings except for the two of them.

…

Back at the Mysterious Tower

"Absolutely not!" Said Yen Sid as he pounded his fist on the table.

"But-"Rebelled Lea.

"That is my final word Lea; you will not be allowed to go to their side at this moment. Besides time is still frozen their anyway from Mickeys interference." Said Yen Sid.

"You know what old man? I am sick and tired of being treated like I'm some kind of prisoner! I am no longer associated with the Organization in any way shape or form! I came here completely on free will so that I could learn how to use the Keyblade and protect what matters! Why can't you just accept that already and start trusting me!" Lea blew up at the old wizard in a rage unlike anyone had seen before.

"You fool, you can't even summon your own Keyblade yet what makes you think you are of any use to them right now without a weapon!" Questioned Yen Sid.

Lea threw his arms out to his sides and two flaming chakrams appeared in his hands. "With these babies right here. Got it memorized?" He dropped his familiar catchphrase casually.

Master Yen Sid sighed out of defeat. "Very well, you can go to them. Mickeys spell is just about to wear off, so hurry!" Ushered Yen Sid.

"Take it easy old man. Ill be fine." Said Lea as he opened a light portal.

"Good Luck Lea, and don't screw it up." Said Yen Sid solemnly.

Lea entered the portal and vanished within its depths.

"Donald and Goofy!" Yen Sid barked at them.

"Yes Master Yen Sid!" They both replied as they put down their deserts from the snack table and bowed before him.

"Both of you need to follow Lea to make sure he stays on track. I can't take any chances that something might go wrong." Said Yen Sid.

"You can count on us sir!" Said Donald with a salute.

"Me too A-Hyuck!" Said Goofy repeating the salute.

"Very well, you must leave at once! Time is of essence!" Said Yen Sid as he snapped his fingers and summoned a light portal.

The dynamic duo strolled right on into the portal with ease. Yen Sid watched as the portal was reduced to air, he then closed his eyes and resumed mediating. "What have I done?" He murmured to himself.

…

Back at The World That Never Was

Mickey stood by Sora's side wondering where Xehanort had taken Riku. The time spell was only supposed to last a few minutes but so far it had felt like an hour had passed and the time barrier still held strong.

"Where could they be?" He wondered.

…

(Play l'impeto oscuro)

Xehanort had been putting up quite a fight against Riku. His Keyblade would unleash bright beams of light occasionally and attempt to attack Riku with a whip like motion. Not to mention he would also warp around the room to attack Riku from behind with a combo attack.

"Dark Splicer!" Cried out Riku as he levitated above the ground to prepare his most powerful attack. Xehanort merely laughed until he noticed that Riku had vanished. "Take this!" Riku shouted as he pummeled him with a combo from behind. Xehanort tried warping away but Riku only followed him and continued to rain all fury upon him.

"Time Stop!" Xehanort shrieked as he froze Riku in place. By the time Riku had unfrozen, Xehanort had warped to the center of the room and was beginning to reverse time so that the battle would start over.

"Not on my watch!" Yelled out Riku as he used sliding dash to stop him.

(I know, bad pun, hehe)

Riku intercepted Xehanort just as he was about to travel through time. This attack shattered the room around him, exposing the bright blue clock he had been using to travel through time.

Riku smiled. "It's over Xehanort!" He taunted him as he used dark splicer to attack the oversized pocket watch.

"Not so fast!" Replied Xehanort as he warped directly in front of the clock and used his dark aura to push Riku back.

Riku moaned as he lay upon the ground dazed from the sudden blow. "Look at how pathetic you are, you have come all this way to save and protect your friend, only to fail now. Instead you can enjoy this battle now and for the rest of your life. For I will make it last an eternity if that's what it takes to defeat you." Xehanort grinned with glee at the sight of Riku's pain.

As Xehanort walked back over to the clock to turn back time again Riku managed to pull himself back on his feet. "Hey Xehanort! You're forgetting something!" Shouted Riku.

Xehanort turned to face Riku; his amber toned eyes glinted mischievously. "Oh?" He said mockingly.

"You cannot change the past but the future will always remain a surprise! Now! Strike Raid!" Cried out Riku as he hurled his Keyblade at Xehanort.

Xehanort warped to dodge the incoming weapon, allowing it to pierce the center of his time traveling clock and shatter it to millions of pieces.

"NO!" Cried out Xehanort as he watched his precious power fade away. The whole scene slowly started dissolving away and eventually faded back into the frozen meeting room.

Riku held his weapon steady, preparing for an unexpected attack, until a familiar tap on his arm caught his attention. Riku looked down to find Mickey at his side.

"Are you ok Riku?" The King asked worriedly.

Riku smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks."

The two of them watched the invisible time barrier fade before them, allowing the future to continue. A mysterious dark portal then formed on the seat of the true superior of Organization XIII. The darkness began to diminish leaving a great evil sitting in the top throne.

Mickey gasped out of shock. "Master Xehanort! We were right about you!" He hollered at the wicked old man.

Master Xehanort chuckled softly at his recognition. His traditional cruel crooked smile formed on his aged face. "All of this was decided. My twelve selves would welcome me here on this day, when I would return a complete person. It is the future now, which lies beyond my sight."

Riku glanced over at Mickey, a frown of fury was written all over his mouse face. "Why are you doing this?" He interrogated Master Xehanort viscously.

The old man only continued to grin as he elaborated his plans. "In ancient times, people believed that light was a gift from an unseen land named Kingdom Hearts. But Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by its counterpart, the x-blade. Warriors vied for that precious light thus beginning the "Keyblade War." The resulting violent clash shattered the x-blade into twenty pieces; seven of light, and thirteen of darkness. And the only real Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by the darkness, never to surface again." He then casually switched over into a more comfortable position, supporting his head with his right arm while crossing his leg lazily. "I once tried to create my own pure light and darkness to forge the x-blade, but the attempt ended in failure. In my eagerness, I had lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal. I acted rashly. I can admit that now." He then looked straight at Mickey to relish his reaction.

Mickey bowed his head out of frustration. His whole body began to shake tremendously with anger before he looked back up at Master Xehanort, pointing his finger directly at him.

What you did back then, your mistakes, changed the destinies of three of my friends!" He accused Master Xehanort harshly.

Master Xehanort just smirked. "Ah, but destiny is never left to chance. I merely guided them to their proper places. The broken boy who failed to become the blade…the misguided master who sacrificed herself for a friend…and the feckless youth who became _my _new vessel." Xehanort spoke with reverence while gesturing to himself.

Mickey stared down at the floor in despair. "I just couldn't find a way to save them. But I wanted to believe…that their sacrifice stopped you for good." He paused for a moment to shake the thought from his mind. "Why? How was I so blind? I should've seen it, as soon as Maleficent began gathering the seven princesses of heart.

The old man interrupted Mickey's realization. "Yes. They were all my doing. I used the evil fairy to find seven pure lights for me, just as I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness."

Riku had listened to enough of this chatter, it was time to intervene. He then stepped forward to back up Mickey. "But you failed. Sora stopped you in your tracks on both counts." Riku spoke with a sense of satisfaction in his voice.

Master Xehanort glared at Sora's resting body. "Yes he did. That dull, incredibly ordinary boy… a Keyblade wielder so unlike any I have ever seen." He then sat up in his throne; growing restless of this revelation he was ready to fulfill his intended plans. "However, I have not abandoned my ambitions, the seven guardians of light and the thirteen seekers of darkness." He paused waiting for the King to respond.

The King took a moment of silence to ponder on this. "Seven guardians of light? Well, for Keyblade wielders, there's me and Riku and Sora. And my three missing friends, that's six. Then the seventh would be…" He gasped at his revelation, He immediately looked up and stared at the various forms of Xehanort scattered around the room. "That means… the thirteen seekers of darkness…"

Xehanort chimed in nonchalantly. "Yes little King. Perceptive. But Sora and another on your list belong to me now. And that puts you three guardians short. But worry not. All of the pieces to the puzzle are destined to appear. Your seven lights, just like my thirteen darknesses, whose final clash will beget the prize that I seek-"

"THE X-BLADE!" Mickey and Xehanort exclaimed in union.

Master Xehanort suddenly stood up in his chair withdrawing his Keyblade. "But first, the thirteen darknesses shall be united!" He gazed around the room eagerly. "All of the seats have been filled…AND NOW the last vessel shall bear my heart like the rest!" He exclaimed in ecstasy. He ushered his hand at Soras seat and it rose up to Xehanorts level until they were eye to eye.

"NO! SORA!" Mickey and Riku exclaimed as they dashed to his aid. As they did so, Xemnas and Ansem vanished from their seats and pinned them on to the altars beside Sora. Xemnas held Mickey by his throat, while Ansem forced Riku's head onto the cold marble floor.

Master Xehanort held his Keyblade before him, casting a dark spell upon it to unleash Sora's Heart. The mystical weapon began to glow with a dark power. He lifted the blade high above his head to charge it to its maximum power before firing a ball of brilliant white light at Sora. The resulting cannon blast echoed off of the walls of the room as it spiraled straight towards Sora, as vulnerable as can be. Suddenly, two flaming chakrams flew right in front of Sora, absorbing the blast. A fiery inferno formed appearing to engulf Sora in flames.

"He made it!" Mickey cheered.

Xemnas looked up at the blast that had occurred above him, once the smoke had cleared away however, he couldn't believe who had been the cause of it. "You!" He snarled while squinting his amber eyes at the blazing heroine.

It was a familiar flame headed robed figure he had been gesturing at. He stood proudly with one leg standing upon the arm of the altar. His robes continued to sizzle from the flames, in his right arm, he held Sora.

"Axel!" Screamed Braig out of fury.

The red haired heroine glared at the one eyed gunman rather annoyed. "Axel? Please. The names Lea! Got it memorized?"

"You're not supposed to be here!" Braig continued to holler.

Lea just smirked at his old accomplice. "I got promises to keep. Ill always be there to get my friends back. What is this a bad time?" He said mockingly but instead of stopping and paying attention to Xehanort he continued his glorious rant. "You had your perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel. Now, let's find out what happens!" He proclaimed raising his chakram into the air.

Braig pounded the arm of his chair furiously, glaring up at Master Xehanort. "What now you old coot? Our time is almost up!" He snapped.

Master Xehanort grinned evilly as he pointed at one of his hooded henchman to attack Lea. The robed figure immediately jumped up from his seat and acrobatically launched himself at Lea. As he prepared to strike he withdrew his almighty blue claymore to strike him with. Lea threw Sora behind him as he held his chakrams to shield the boy. The weapons clanged against one another causing the hood of the attacker to fall off.

Lea gasped as a familiar sight of long wavy blue hair drifted out of its dark shelter, an x shaped scar permanently etched upon his forehead. "Isa!" He exclaimed as he continued to struggle against him. Isa just merely grunted as he put more force on his old friend's weapon. Lea then ducked and dodged the claymore as it struck the arm of the altar. He then back flipped off the top of the throne and landed beside Riku and Mickey with Sora.

Riku and Mickey each took aim at their captors at the sight of this distraction and broke free of their grasp. Xemnas and Ansem rose to their superior's side before attacking again. "Axel what are you doing here?" Questioned Riku as he drew out his Keyblade.

"No! I told you my name is… never mind. Let's finish this." Lea sighed as he prepared for the wrath of the enemies before him.

Ansem wrapped his arms around himself and gained the power required to summon his dark guardian. "Gah!" He exclaimed as the demon released itself from his master's internal prison. The bandaged guardian glared at the foes below him cautiously before swooping down to attack them. The dark spirit grabbed ahold of Riku and Mickey clutching them tightly in his massive fists.

"Seize them!" Cried out Master Xehanort. Braig and Isa jumped down from their altars and pulled out their weapons. Braig tossed his laser guns slyly while glaring at Lea as if he was going to burn him on the spot.

"Alright fellas, NO MORE GAMES! Hand over the boy and no one else gets hurt!" He demanded.

Lea darted his eyes around the room, looking for a way to escape this mess. Isa however wasn't willing to sit and wait for the show to get started. He once again dashed straight at Lea utterly prepared to wipe the floor with him. Lea dodged his attack as his claymore struck the marble floor brutally, leaving a giant crack where it had struck. Braig fired off several rounds of bullets at Lea. He dodged most of them successfully, all the while hanging on to Sora. However one bullet managed to get past his chakrams and pierced him in the chest, knocking him flat onto the floor. Sora fell several feet away from all of them; his limp body lay sprawled upon the floor.

Master Xehanort grinned gleefully at his second opportunity for success. He charged his Keyblade once more and fired off the giant ball of light at Sora. Just as the cannon blast had sounded off however a blue streak of light grazed the blast reducing it to a small orb of dark energy. The blue streak of light then flew upward jaggedly and threw Donald and Goofy down on top of Ansem's guardian. The dark spirit dissolved into the air from the almighty blow, releasing Riku and Mickey from its clutches. The remainder of Xehanorts attack struck Sora square in the chest.

"NO!" Cried out the heroes. However the Donald and Goofy's impact upon the dark force must have weakened it far too much, for Sora remained unaffected by it.

Master Xehanorts wicked grin instantly vanished but was soon replaced by a smirk. All of Xehanorts minions began to fade into the air, their time was up. "We are out of time. Neither the union of light nor darkness has been achieved, and now we must all return whence we came. But the gathering of the seven and thirteen is nigh." Xehanort gestured to all of the people in the room. "Let us finish this battle at the fated place of all Keyblade warriors, once your lights and my darknesses have joined together!" He exclaimed throwing his arms into the air. He too then faded into nothingness, leaving only shreds of dark debris floating in the air, just like the others had.

Mickey motioned everyone to gather around him after he had picked up the fallen star shard Goofy and Donald had dropped. Lea scooped up Sora in his right arm once again and walked towards them.

"Let's go home fellas." Said Mickey as he held the star out in the palm of his hand. Everyone placed their hand upon the star, and with a flash of light, they were on their way back to Yen Sids Tower.

Author: So what did you think?

Sora: What did I think? You completely changed the ending of this game! Your decision could alter the entire series!

Author: That is the point, Sora.

Riku: Wait, is this one of those what if stories that completely alters the events of a story just by one simple event change?

Author: Correct. Except that Kingdom Hearts III does not exist yet, so really I am writing what could be the future that develops from this one mere event alteration.

Sora: Ugh that's to much to take in. My head hurts just thinking about it!

Author: Well don't get to worked up about it, that's not the only thing that will be hurting pretty soon.

Riku: What's that supposed to mean?!

Author: It means you should be patient so that I don't have to give away the whole story!

Riku: Fine. But If you kill anyone off Ill…

Author: You'll what?

Riku: Come and get you myself.

Author: That's a pretty bold statement for a character that don't really exist in the real world. You know I could make this incredibly ironic and kill you off in this story instead.

Riku: …..

Author: I thought so… Not that I really have a reason to kill you or Sora off anyway, you're the main characters in the story! Now old man Xehanort on the other hand…well you'll have to wait and see what happens to him.

Both: Aww c'mon can't you tell us now!

Author: And spoil it all? Heck to the NO! All right time to wrap this up. Do you two have something to say?

Sora: Thanks for actually reading the first chapter of this story and not ignoring it.

Riku: And just remember, if you think this bum is taking to long to write the next chapter, just holler out for us in the comments section below and we'll see that it gets done soon.

Author: Is that a threat Riku?

Riku: You'll just have to wait and find out, now wont you?

Author: …I hate it when you guys use my own words against me….. Until next time, thanks for reading and don't forget to comment by clicking the button below!...Its right there…just waiting for you to click on it…..c'mon you know you want to….please…..fine….maybe ill have to write more before these comments show up…

And just remember, I'm not special enough to own Kingdom Hearts or Disney and any of its characters, so back off lawyers.


	2. Chapter 2: The Truth Hidden at the Heart

Kingdom Hearts III: Xehanorts Ambitions

Chapter 2

The Truth Hidden In the Heart

Sora: YAWN! Is it really that time already… (rubs his eyes)

Riku: (Cracks neck) Yeah no kidding, you didn't even give us 2 weeks and you already put another chapter up.

Author: And that's a bad thing? That's like a personal best in my book!

Sora: More like a personal pest for invading our lives.

Riku: I second that.

Author: Seriously guys, more insults?

Sora: Well what else are we supposed to do!

Riku: You know most readers on here just like to skip straight to reading anyway why do you even bother with tormenting us!

Author: …Because it seems like I have a life then…

Riku: (Walks up to author and places hand on shoulder) Dude… nobody likes a dude that talks to themselves through the use of fictional characters that they don't own.

Author: But…they like my stories right?

Sora: Well I don't know about th- (Riku clamps his hand over Soras mouth)

Riku: Of course they do, why wouldn't a Kingdom Hearts fan not like a good KH fanfiction?

Author: Yeah I guess your right, would one of you do the honors?

Riku: My turn. The Author here would like to inform all of you that he does not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney and all of their characters and worlds that will be included in this novel. That Disney characters belong to Disney and that Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix.

As usual I will be posting song suggestions if you care to even follow them… if you do they will be posted in parentheses like this (song title here) any songs that I suggest on here will always be found on youtube, or if you were lucky enough to buy the KH soundtrack CD yourselves you could use that to… Anyways you probably actually want to read this chapter so thanks for reading and enjoy!

Kingdom Hearts III: Xehanorts Ambitions

Chapter 2

The Truth Hidden In the Heart

(Back In Master Yen Sids Tower)

Everyone's attention in the room was drawn towards a boy in a black jumpsuit that was snoozing against the wall in a deep sleep.

"Will he… will he ever wake up Yen Sid?" Asked Mickey cautiously, the fear of the past could be seen in his sharp black eyes.

Yen Sid closed his eyes gently before responding. "No. Not on his own free will. However this is unlike the sleep you witnessed over 10 years ago Mickey. Sora's heart is indeed sleeping, but he is completely unharmed from Xehanorts attack…or so it appears."

"Well what can we do for him, Master?" Asked Riku. He watched his friend somberly, wanting nothing more than for him to wake up.

"If you unlocked the seven keyholes of the sleeping worlds like you were ordered to, then you should have gained the power to free ones heart from eternal slumber." Said Yen Sid.

"Ill go Master Yen Sid! Sora's my friend too!" Interrupted Mickey.

"Yeah so will we!" Cried out Donald and Goofy.

Riku turned and smiled at them. "Thanks guys but… this task is up to me. After all I owe it Sora, and besides I'm always the one who has his back. Just look at him, he's snoozing like theirs nothing wrong at all. Just like back at the islands, I always had to wake him up for slacking behind. Heh heh." Riku laughed half-heartedly. He then summoned his way to dawn Keyblade and pointed it straight at Sora. A blue dream sphere slowly rose out of Soras chest and floated over to his side.

"Be careful Riku. There is no telling what could be happening in Soras heart, anything is possible at this point so be on your guard." Advised Master Yen Sid.

"Yes Master." Said Riku as he bowed gracefully.

Riku then placed his hand on the dream orb and entered the dive into Soras heart.

…

(Play Fragments of Sorrow a.k.a Destati)

The world went silent for a moment he entered the depths of his friends most personal keepsakes , but suddenly Riku could feel the force of the wind rushing through his hair as he plummeted deeper and deeper into the dark abyss below him. Riku slowly opened his eyes and saw faded illusions of Sora's memories passing by him. He smiled softly as a memory of a particular bet over Kairi passed by.

"This is nice, nothing to worry about at all; all I got to do is float through memory lane and hopefully find a way to wake Sora up once I reach the bottom." Riku thought to himself. Unfortunately fork Riku, a blissful fall down to the bottom was the last thing the darkness wanted. A dozen shadow Soras formed in midair and all jumped at Riku in unison. Riku appeared to be completely oblivious as they were about to strike.

"Gotcha now!" He surprised the spiky haired assassins with a slash of his Keyblade. The shadows vaporized instantaneously, only to remerge from the darkness, just as bloodthirsty and cold as before. And so the attack recommenced. This pattern repeated for what seemed like countless hours for Riku until he noticed that the memories in Sora's heart were approaching towards the present time.

"I must be getting close to the center of his heart, time to shake these guys loose." He thought to himself. Riku wrapped both of his hands around his Keyblade, gripping it firmly. "Let there be light!" He cried out to the heavens. A ball of pure light emerged from the tip of his blade and exploded upon all of the shadows before him, leaving nothing standing in its wake. Riku put his Keyblade away, a stained glass platform could be seen a short distance away. As he grew closer towards it, the rate of his descent began to gradually slow down, allowing him to gently place his feet upon the ground.

Riku gazed at the smooth imagery engraved into the platform. It was Sora sleeping gently while appearing to fall. Off to the side were the faces of the friends closest to his heart, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, the King and of course Riku too. "I wonder where he could be, this is his heart after all; he wouldn't be rude enough not to show up and greet me would he?" Riku spoke aloud absent mindedly to himself. A pair of feet could be heard landing behind Riku. He slowly turned around to find a cloaked figure before him, dressed in the robes of Organization XIII.

"Roxas, is that you?" Riku asked the mysterious figure.

The robed stranger remained silent for a moment, only to withdraw a Keyblade identical to Xehanorts and point it straight at Riku's chest.

Riku summoned his Keyblade immediately to defend himself. The attacker proceeded to slash him swiftly but Riku quickly deflected it. "Ill take that as a no." He chuckled at himself, despite the dark humor he had just made.

The robed one then leapt away from Riku and landed on the opposite side of the platform. He rose his Keyblade high into the air before stabbing it into the floor. A dark portal began to form around the dark weapon eventually consuming the entire platform, leaving nothing behind but a pitch black abyss.

Riku watched avidly as the dark one used the newly formed room to his advantage by plunging itself into the darkness to warp to anywhere it desired with ease. Eventually he grew tired of playing this hiding game and proceeded to demolish Riku with extravagant Keyblade combos.

The sounds of steel clanging against steel were swallowed into the darkness as the two fought mercilessly. "Dark Splicer!" Cried out Riku in an attempt to catch his enemy off guard. He warped to try an avoid the oncoming attack, but Riku was able to keep up with this pace and allowed him no chance to get away again. After his assault upon the stranger was over he unleashed a stream of dark firagas from his Keyblade, firing them as if he were holding a gun. The attacker dodged several of the explosive bullets but was struck square in the chest by the last one.

This pattern of attacks repeated endlessly for what Riku felt was oblivion; fortunately his attacker felt the same way too. The mysterious figure warped to the center of the room and clasped his hands together, as if he were praying. A couple moments later eleven other cloaked figures entered the room and surrounded Riku.

Although his attacker spoke no words Riku could have sworn that at that very moment he had said, "You have fought valiantly, but now it is time to give in, Riku." The mysterious figure watched silently as his comrades closed in on the silver haired boy, and appeared to have silenced the great Keyblade wielder.

Suddenly a bright beam of light erupted out of the enclosed circle and knocked all of the dark figures off their feet and on to the bottomless floor.

"No…it's not possible." The Mysterious figure whispered in shock. Right before him stood Riku who had appeared to have gained a powerful source of light. And the proof of it stood right next to him, for on his left side stood Sora. Both wielders summoned their Keyblades in unison and glanced at each other to confirm their next move. The two of them faced each other and raised their Keyblades high before swinging them into each other to form a powerful weapon.

The Mysterious figure watched in horror as the two boys before him held a Keyblade forged from their combined powers. As if they were one being, the two of them leapt high into the air and smashed the almighty weapon into the attacker, defeating him for good.

The Mysterious figure raised his hand towards Riku, before dropping his Keyblade and falling onto the floor. A dark portal opened up beneath him, and slowly devoured his dying body.

Riku smiled, they had finally won. "Alright Sora we did –"Riku froze, Sora had disappeared. One moment he had been fighting by his side, and the next he appeared to have never existed there.

Suddenly a white marble door appeared before him, one that he had opened only once before. Riku drew a deep breath in before accepting what he had to do. "Ok then… here goes nothing." Riku grabbed ahold of the doors silver handle tightly as he pulled back with all his strength to open it.

A warming light flooded the room, and gently emanated from its source contained with in. Riku cautiously walked into its enchanted depths.

…

"Where…..am I?" The platinum haired boy questioned as he rubbed his eyes, trying ever so desperately to wake up. As his eyes began to flicker open he began to take in the scenery. The tang of the ocean air hit his tongue softly. He inhaled deeply to take in the scent of the palm trees, all the while becoming more and more relaxed by the sound of the waves crashing upon the shore. Riku closed his eyes, he was at peace, but then again it felt like someone was watching him, someone who was intent on disrupting his safe haven.

Riku abruptly opened his aquamarine eyes and found himself staring into a set of crisp blue ones that were awfully familiar. "Roxas, is that really you this time?" Asked Riku.

The spiky amber haired boy laughed. "Roxas? I think you have me confused with that guy over there Riku." The fake non-Roxas pointed at another boy who looked exactly like Roxas as well. Riku was astounded, two Roxas's!

Riku immediately jumped back on his feet and shook the sand off of him. "What is going on here?" He interrogated the two of them.

"Allow me to explain." Said the person who was apparently supposed to be Roxas as he stepped towards the two of them. "You see I am Roxas but this guy here is Ventus." Said Roxas. Roxas then placed his hand on Ventus's shoulder and smiled, Ventus did the same.

Riku just stared absentmindedly at them, he was undoubtedly confounded. "That still doesn't explain why you two look like carbon copies of each other?" Riku questioned.

(Play Ventus's theme)

Ventus stretched his arms and crossed them behind his head. "Well its kind of a long story but ten years ago a man named Xehanort tried to remove the darkness from my heart to produce another being. When he succeeded in releasing this dark beast with in me, he named this being Vanitas who had the ability to wield the Keyblade just like me. Unfortunately when Vanitas was born he took a rather large piece of my heart to claim for his own and left me incredibly weak and vulnerable. Master Xehanort decided to dispose of me so he took me to this island and set me on a tree branch wrapped up in a white sheet up there." Ventus pointed up at the crooked palm tree that grew on the detached island connected by the old wooden bridge.

Just as he was about to continue however, Riku interrupted. "Sorry to interrupt but how do you know Xehanort, and second; you can wield a Keyblade?" Asked a puzzled Riku.

"You bet I can!" Said Ventus proudly. He held his hand out and summoned his Keyblade. It looked like the Kingdom Key that Sora wields, but its shape was curved instead of straight. The prongs at the end of it looked more like a spiked ax than the crown shape on Soras. The Wayward Wind.

"Wow." Said Riku. He was simply amazed by what he was discovering.

Ventus put away his Keyblade swiftly and continued. "And as for Xehanort, he was my Master's friend, Master Eraqus." Ventus's face suddenly went from a smile to cold scowl. "Unfortunately for me and my friends, Master Xehanort was nothing but a traitor the whole time. After he left me to die in this place, the voice of a small child called out to me. I remember being on a glass platform, its surface was covered with detailed drawings that only a child could have treasured. The voice asked me what was wrong with me and I told him that my heart had been damaged, and that I was moments from dying. After that, I felt a warming sensation in my chest. The voice told me that are hearts had become one, and that someday when I could get the rest of my heart back from Vanitas then we could meet each other. I immediately woke up after that traumatic experience dazed and confused. Xehanort noticed this and smiled viscously for his plan dark plan for me was only beginning. Master Xehanort took me to live with Master Eraqus, being that I had lost my memory in the incident; I remembered nothing of those past events at the time. Their I met the two people who would become my best friends, Terra and Aqua." A small tear trickled down the boys face and hit the sand softly.

Riku knew that this wasn't a happy ending; he went over to Ventus and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey you don't have to tell me what happened if it's too much to bear, I know the feeling." Said Riku.

Ventus sniffled a little, and wiped away his tears with his shirt sleeve. "Thanks but, I would like to finish, no, I need to finish this story, it's for your own good." Said Ventus.

Riku paused for a moment as Ventus drew in a deep breath. "I understand Ventus; please continue whenever you're ready." Said Riku.

Ventus sighed one last time, but continued to stare off into the ocean. "Master Xehanort was a very cruel man. He used me and my friends to achieve his nefarious goals to recreate the Keyblade war. He exposed Terra to the darkness, and had him consumed by it so that he could turn him into his personal vessel. He had me fight Vanitas to the death to forge the x-blade. Fortunately I was able to stop this part of his plan by destroying Vanitas, however since the X-blade was made out of my heart as well as his, my heart was shattered once again and my body fell into a coma. Even though I was no longer awake for the rest of the story my heart was connected to my Terra's and Aqua's. This is how I learned that Aqua fought against Xehanort to free Terra from his control. Terra made a strong effort to break his hold against Xehanort, but his darkness was too much for him. In a desperate last minute attempt to save himself Xehanort tried to free Terra's heart from his own, but this caused him to fall into the realm of darkness and dragged Aqua down with him. Aqua didn't believe that Terra's heart had truly been freed and tried to save Terra's body from being consumed by the darkness. When she realized that their was no way for both her and Terra to escape from the dark realm she sacrificed her Keyblade to save Terra and was lost to the Realm of darkness for good. I thought all had been lost for good. But suddenly that voice came back to me again; it called out for me even though we were on two completely different worlds. I saw a small boy with spiky brown hair wearing a white t-shirt with red shorts and yellow sandals standing on the surface of the same platform as before. He asked me once again what was wrong, and I told him that I had lost everything dear to me. He then asked if I was sad, I indeed told him of the remorse I felt and then mentioned a way to for him to help me. I asked him if I could stay in his heart until I could be reconnected with my body. He said yes and welcomed me into his heart. That boy was Sora. And I know I could never thank him enough for what he has done for me." Said Ventus. He grew silent for a moment before looking back at Riku.

(End Ven's Theme)

(Switch to Roxas Theme a.k.a The Other Promise)

Riku had no words to express the sympathy he felt for this boy, and at the same time he felt conflicted that he had realized that Ventus was one of three friends Mickey had mentioned back at The World That Never Was. "Well Ventus, I really don't know what else to say, other than I'm sorry for what happened to you and your friends, but if I might ask one more question, is their a reason as to why you and Roxas look so much like each other?" Asked Riku cautiously, afraid of triggering some other hidden emotion.

Just as Ventus was about to speak, Roxas interrupted. "You've done enough explaining for one day Ven, this one is mine. That question is rather easy to explain." Said Roxas in his cocky like attitude. "When Sora turned the Keyblade on himself and released his heart to give Kairi's back, he released Ven's heart as well. When a person loses there heart it will replace itself at the first chance It gets, so when Sora's heart tried to recreate his body it chose the appearance of Ventus's body instead of Sora's. However since Sora regained his heart shortly after he lost it, I was unable to gain either Sora's memories or Ventus's. Xemnas then found me in Twilight Town and did the same as he did with all of the other Organization members. Brainwashed them into believing they had no heart and then gave them a new name. True to his methods, Xemnas dubbed me Roxas and told me that I was a nobody as well." Roxas bit his lip to prevent himself from becoming to angry. "I still cant believe I trusted the scumbag, but what else was I supposed to do, without any memories I couldn't make any fair judgment as to what having a heart felt like that is until I met Axel and…her." Said Roxas as he motioned his head at the black haired girl sitting on the crooked tree branch.

(End Roxas Theme)

Riku gazed up at the black haired girl; she wore an Organization XIII cloak, just like the one he had seen so many times before. The girl temporarily glanced back at the three boys, her sharp blue eyes widened in shock when she noticed Riku. She then continued to stare off into the setting sun upon the sea. "Who is she?" Asked Riku out of curiosity. He felt like he knew her, but he was absolutely positive that this was the first time they had ever met.

Roxas smirked as he noticed the expression that was forming on Riku's face. "That, I'm going to let you find out for yourself." Said Roxas as he gestured towards the mysterious girl.

Riku slowly found himself treading softly across the sand and towards this girl. He felt like nothing else mattered in this sanctum except her. She was and must be the center of his world, if only he knew why he felt this way, then everything in here might make a little more sense. Before he knew it, the sound of his shoes walking across the wooden bridge was echoing off the rocks below. Riku strolled on up to her and leaned up against the crooked palm tree. "I don't mean to be rude and interrupt your peace but I was told that if I wanted to wake up So-"

"I know who you are, and why you are here, Riku. It truly is unfortunate that you don't remember me though, it would make this situation so much easier for you." Interrupted the strange black haired girl.

"What do you mean?" Asked Riku. Suddenly he gasped out in pain and clutched his chest, as if he had received a sudden stab through his heart. Suddenly everything around him went dark, as the hidden memories of his past were brought to the light. And as they were revealed, Riku was forced into reliving them right at that moment.

(Cue Riku's Theme)

He was outside of the beast's castle; he had just defeated this person who was supposedly part of the organization. Riku had then walked up to her as she lay on the ground; he removed her hood then pulled up the bandanna he had used to cover his eyes. He looked at her face and was in shock! She looked exactly like Kairi, with the exception that her hair was black. "Your face….Who are you really and why do you have a Keyblade?

The girl had paused a moment then pulled her hood back down to hide her fearful face. "Tell me first… why you are dressed as one of us?"

Riku had began to walk away from her at this question then answered. "To make sure my best friend sleeps in peace." He then walked towards her Keyblade that she had dropped only moments ago and picked it up. It only took a short moment for him to realize that it was a fake. "I don't know who you're supposed to be, but…. you can't fight fire with sparks, this Keyblade, it's a sham, worthless." He said as tossed the Keyblade behind him as if it were rubbish.

The cloaked girl then got on her knees. "My Keyblade is not a sham! What gives you the right to say that? She then picked up her Keyblade and charged straight at him preparing to strike him down.

Riku just stood there in silence; and just as she was about to make her deadly move he quickly ducked under her blade and slammed his fist into her back, knocking her onto the solid stone bridge floor again. "Find a new crowd, trust me…those guys are bad news." He said as he began to make his departure.

Just as he was about to summon a dark portal she called out. "Why? You're the real sham!" She then gasped a little from the pain of his attack.

Riku stood still from this statement; he knew it was the truth in his head. "Fair enough. I suppose you could say… I'm the biggest nobody of them all." He then continued walking away as she screamed in frustration.

(End Riku's theme)

The memory then ended and the scene changed, he was now back home at Destiny Island's holding the semi-conscious black haired girl in his hands. As he did so she was mumbling various questions.

"Who am I?" She paused. "What am I….doing here?"

She must be dreaming Riku thought to himself. He then heard the noise of portal being opened and saw an amber haired boy wearing a cloak running into it. "That must be Roxas." He thought. Suddenly he the girl stirred in his arms and opened her eyes.

(Play Missing You)

"Are you-"She asked but was interrupted by Riku.

"Riku, Sora's friend."

"Sora? You know Sora?" She seemed shocked and intrigued at the same time as she sat up.

"Yeah." He said as he stood up.

The girl did the same. "Thank you… you saved me but I don't know why…you did."

"I guess… I just felt like it." He then began walking away as if he were going to leave her here.

"Riku please tell me more, about Sora and that girl he's always with."

Riku paused to ponder on this question before answering. "You mean Kairi."

"Kairi that's right…. she's the one who looks so much like me."

"To Sora, she's someone very special." Said Riku as he stepped towards her.

The girl then put her hand to her forehead as she was explaining what she knew to him. "It's just that… I remember things about the two of them, but I'm nothing more but a puppet, something someone created, so why…would I have their memories?" She then walked over to one of the palm trees on the beach then turned to face Riku." "Do you know where Sora is?" She asked.

"That secret stays with me." He quickly responded.

Why's that?

The memory then stopped, Riku had spoken her name, and it was coming back to him now.

"Xion." He spoke to himself. He then remembered the worst part, finding out that she had died to give Sora back his memories. A tear rolled off of Riku's face, he knew who she was now, and now he knew that he had loved her.

(Play Xions Theme)

"X-Xion, I can't believe… that I forgot you… I'm so ashamed." Riku sobbed. Tears were now streaming down his face. He couldn't help fighting them back any longer.

Xion jumped down from the crooked palm tree and walked over to Riku. Before he could even react, she had wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "Don't be sad Riku; it's not your fault. Everyone who knew me was destined to forget me after I died. For my memories were tied with Soras, and his heart has affected so many, that the memory of my existence was consumed when I returned to his heart." Said Xion as she rested her head against his shoulder. She then looked up at Riku's face and stared into his brilliant aquamarine eyes. "So please Riku," She then wiped away the tears on his face gently, "Don't be sad." She pleaded softly.

Riku drew in a deep breath and exhaled. He then raised his arm and cradled her smooth face. "I'm sorry Xion, its just, you suffered a horrible fate, and even though I cared about you, there was nothing I could do to change what had already happened. The fact that everyone was destined to forget you was sort of a mixed blessing. On one hand I had forgotten all about my remorse over your loss, on the other, well I just broke down in front of you in a very unmanly way." Riku chuckled darkly.

Xion smiled. "Only a real man wouldn't be afraid to cry in front of the ones he loved." Said Xion. Suddenly the two of them saw each other eye to eye. A spark had occurred between them, and neither had the desire to extinguish it. Riku slowly tilted his head to the side as he bowed down to kiss her. It lasted only a short moment then broke apart. Xion's blue eyes flickered for a moment to realize what had just happened. She then threw herself further into Riku's chest and returned his kiss with passion.

Ventus and Roxas were walking along the shore when they noticed this. Roxas just laughed and Ven cat called. Both of them enjoying the mockery they could make of this moment.

Xion broke off the kiss and hollered at them. "Very funny you two!" She yelled sarcastically.

The two boys just laughed as they kept strolling along the beach, allowing the occasional wave to wash over their bare feet.

Xion turned back to Riku, her cheeks slightly pink from blushing. "As much as I have enjoyed this time with you, Riku. I'm afraid its time to get down to brass tacks. You see even though I was forced to return to Sora there is a way for me to come back, as my own person, and not a puppet with stolen memories." Said Xion.

Riku couldn't believe what he had just heard, the love of his life just told them that their was a way for them to get back together, and better yet, without harming his best friend! "I am at your service, my princess." Said Riku jokingly as he got down on one knee and asked for her hand.

Xion giggled at his foolish gesture, but went with it anyway. She walked towards Riku and removed her black gloves before placing her hands in his. "You see, this isn't something you will be able to do on your own. You will need all the help you can get for this." She spoke quietly.

Riku stood up and cupped her bare hands in his. "Whatever it takes Xion, I will not fail." Said Riku.

Xion's big blue eyes began to swell up with tears, but she blinked them away quickly to avoid drawing any more attention from the two goofballs chuckling below. "There are three vital things needed to create a living being, a body, a heart and a mind. My body was destroyed when I provoked Roxas to attack me that fateful day. My mind is what you see now, it resides right here in Sora's heart. As for my heart, well I never had one, Soras memories filled that void I felt inside of me, and gave me a purpose. So you see Riku, I need you to find me a body first, and from there a way to get my mind back into it, and after that, a heart of my own." Said Xion.

Riku thought about this for a moment. "So I need to find you a body first… where would I even began to search for that?" Asked Riku.

Xion reached for something inside of her organization coat, she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Riku. "Here, I stole this page out of Saix's diary when I was trying to find out information about my origins. After raiding his diary I tried hacking into the organizations database, and when that failed I deserted the organization temporarily." Said Xion. She laughed a little at this confession as Riku opened it up. "He mentions that when Vexen created me and another vessel that their was actually a leftover backup vessel and that they even had the raw materials needed to create more as needed. Problem is I don't know where those materials are hidden at in the castle." Xion mumbled with disappointment.

Riku placed a hand on her shoulder. "It may not be much to go on, but it's a start, thanks Xion." Said Riku with a smile.

Xion smiled back at him. "No, thank you Riku, for caring enough about me to embark on this mission. It will be our little secret, just like old times." Said Xion.

(End Xions Theme)

…

(Meanwhile)

A boy with spiky brown hair wearing a black jumpsuit stood silently in a dark abyss. His blue eyes were concentrating on the vile thing before him. An aging grey haired man who wore a grey cloak and metallic armor. His gleaming orange eyes stared straight into his victim's heart.

"Give up boy, I have seen your heart now and it is mine!" Demanded Xehanort.

(Play Link to All)

"I would never give my heart to foul man such as you! How can you just stand their and smile after all the pain and suffering you have caused." Said Sora with disgust.

Xehanort just laughed. "I merely guided them to their proper places boy, the people that I befriended to form Organization XIII as Xemnas were just misguided people who were willing to believe anything I told them at their most vulnerable stage, birth by sleep. When the heart is sleeping after its body has been lost, it will develop a new vessel for it to reside in, one that matches its personality and emotions more precisely than its previous host. But that's beside the point, your heart is no longer what I seek Sora, for I have already set a new plan into action, all you have to do is surrender to the darkness." Said Xehanort.

Sora began to shake with anger. "Never!" He cried out as he summoned his Keyblade.

"Do you really think you can stop me boy?" Xehanort sneered. Sora continued to point his Keyblade at Xehanort but then lowered it to his side. "Good, you decided not to waste my time. But no matter what you do now Sora, the Keyblade war will begin thus throwing the worlds into darkness and revealing Kingdom Hearts itself. The battle between the 7 and 13 will reawaken the X-blade which will unlock the power contained with in Kingdom Hearts, allowing me to use it as I please." Said Xehanort. He then pointed directly at Sora. "And now that I have sown the seeds of darkness in your heart you shall be the one to help reach my goals, all you have to do is give in to the darkness, trust me, its much easier than fighting back the potential you could have Sora." Xehanort spoke with a lust for power.

A single tear rolled down Sora's face and fell into the dark abyss surrounding them. "Darkness is a disease. It once consumed a dear friend of mine, and in the end reduced them to almost nothing. But when they learned to control it, and use it for the light they were able to still be themselves. That is the kind of darkness that resides in my heart, the darkness that works for the light!" Sora proclaimed and raised his Keyblade high above his head.

Suddenly a beam of light shone down upon Sora and began to slowly pull him out of the darkness.

"No!" Cried out Xehanort. He then raised his fist at Sora as he made his escape. "Don't you forget boy that your day will come, your heart belongs to the darkness now!" Yelled Xehanort.

As Sora raised higher and higher into the light, he felt a soothing warmth wrap around his body. Then there were voices crying out his name softly, they gradually grew louder and louder until…

…

Ven and Roxas had climbed up to the small island where Riku and Xion are chatting. Roxas jumped up on to the bridge then offered Ven a hand. When they were both standing stably they strolled on over to the lovebirds.

"So Riku, could we ask you a tiny little question?" Asked Roxas.

Riku's eyes slowly diverged from Xion towards the dramatic duo and wandered back to Xion. Suddenly snapped back to Roxas and Ven. "Sure, anything at all." Said Riku.

"We want to know why you are here?" Asked the two of them in unison.

"Oh, well you see, Sora kind of fell asleep, so I dove into his heart to wake him up." Said Riku as he chuckled.

The two identical boys stared at each other and burst out laughing. "He isn't asleep anymore!" Giggled Roxas.

"Yeah Sora woke up as soon as you arrived here in this sanctum hidden within the depths of his heart." Said Ventus.

Riku's eyes widened. "But then…why am I here? Shouldn't I be awake to with Sora?" Asked Riku.

Xion slowly walked away from Riku and went over to Roxas and Ven before turning to face Riku again. "It's true, Sora has been awake since you arrived here, you could have woken up anytime you wanted to since then, all you had to do was close your eyes and focus." Said Xion in an amused tone. Her eyes suddenly dropped a little, as she realized that this was goodbye for now. "Although I did enjoy our time together Riku, maybe you were truly meant to stick around and listen to our stories, so that when you arrived back in the real world, you could make your plans to save us all." She said sadly.

Riku stood still in silence for a moment. He had just gathered a tremendous amount of information from these three people, and each and every one of them have all been seeking shelter inside of Soras heart since he was just a little kid. Riku cleared his throat as he prepared to say goodbye. "It's been great meeting all of you, and I want to thank you for telling me your stories. Maybe someday I will succeed in finding a way to help you three, but until then, this is goodbye." Said Riku. He then closed his eyes and focused on the Yen Sids tower, wanting more than anything to wake up with Sora safe and sound. As his silent meditation grew stronger the noise around him was sealed off and was replaced by a voice calling his name. It gradually grew louder and louder until a light shined right into his eyes.

Riku blinked to regain focus and found himself staring at the ceiling of an observatory. The sound of Sora bickering with Donald and Goofy over who could eat the last slice of cake could be heard only a few feet away from Riku. Slowly but carefully he drew in a deep breath and sat up. He was back in the real world.

(You can end Link to All now…if you haven't already)

Author: Well another chapter has been wrapped up at last.

Sora: Just in time for Christmas!

Riku: (Rolls his eyes) Sora Christmas is over 22 days away…

Sora: Oh be quiet you're just upset that you can't have the girl of your dreams all to yourself yet.

Riku: …Sora on a scale of 1 to 10… how much do you want to get hurt today?

Sora: Hmmm let me think about that. Oh I know! I think Ill go with Xehanorts favorite number 13!

Riku: Why you…(Summons way to dawn and launches a dark fiaraga at Sora)

Sora: (Dodges the sudden attack) Na Na Missed me!

Riku: Your gonna be sorry you said that…

Author: And I am officially ignoring you two until the next chapter. So to you fellow readers I would like to thank all of you for reading this chapter and supporting the progress that I have accomplished with it so far. I apologize that it took two weeks to post this one up. But it was 2000 words longer than the first one. Hopefully it won't take this long to do the third chapter. Until next time this is the lost nobody of KH signing off. Have a great day! Or evening… whenever and wherever you are while reading this…


	3. Chapter 3: Dark Secrets

Oh boy…where to even start.

Well first off I am skipping my usual introduction to say a few things to my fellow readers. First off I hope you all had a good Christmas and for those of you reading this in the year 2012 that you have a great new year as well.

In light of recent events I would like to ask that all of you close your eyes and take a moment of silence in honor of the victims in the Newtown shooting. It truly is a terrible tragedy. Thank you.

And now I apologize for the delay I would like to present chapter 3!

I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney or any of the characters that are in it. Those rights belong to Square Enix and Walt Disney. But I'm sure all of you should have that memorized by now.

Happy Reading!

**Kingdom Hearts III: Xehanorts Ambitions**

Chapter 3

Dark Secrets

Three dark men stood before the ruins of a castle once known as Hollow Bastion. Its towers were crumbling from the darkness that once wrecked havoc over it. The eldest of this trio smiled with his wicked grin. Beholding what had become of his old home filled him with a sense of satisfaction, the proof that his power was mighty enough to destroy this world and have it consumed by darkness. To cause mayhem of such magnitude that people had forgotten its true name over time, and had renamed it after the emptiness it held inside. This was Radiant Garden.

The man on the right of the eldest held one of his dual guns behind his back, preparing for any unforeseen obstacles they may have to dispose of. His black hair bobbed slightly as he walked alongside his master and fellow member. His right eye patched as a reminder not to mess with Keyblade wielders.

Number IV, The Free Shooter

The man on the left of the ancient one long blue hair that flowed swiftly behind his back. An X-shaped scar crossed between his eyes as sharp as ice. His thirst for the moon to shine upon him so that he could unleash his full potential was evident as he gripped his claymore tightly in his right hand.

Number V, The Luna Diviner

The elderly man in the middle was bald due to his age, but still had a grey goatee that stuck out from his chin. He held his gloved hands behind his back firmly, not bothering to withdraw his Keyblade for he expected that his armed comrades would handle any trouble they came across. The only thing on his mind was the object that he had hidden within the deepest depths of this castle months ago. An object that would bring him one step further to his ultimate goal, to create the x-blade.

Number I, The Seeker of Darkness

Master Xehanort led his comrades Braig and Isa into the castle entrance and into the maze of endless hallways in search of a particular room. Braig and his natural need to be in on Xehanorts plans could no longer resist asking his question.

"Um, Xehanort, what exactly are we looking for in this place? I mean look at it! The place became a dump from all the damage we did to it." Stated Braig.

Xehanort paused for a moment before answering this question. "In order to drown Sora's heart in darkness we will need to forge a secret weapon that we can use to infiltrate his life and take him down. I have hidden something in this castle ages ago that will enable us to do just that." Said Xehanort.

"And what would be capable of doing that?" Chimed in Isa.

Xehanort chuckled darkly. "Another person to become connected to his heart."

…

"Donald let me grab a piece I'm starving here!" Moaned a spiky haired brunette boy.

The short white duck known as Donald turned to face Sora. "Don't be greedy Sora. You've only been awake for five minutes and you've already eaten half of the desserts here!" Donald then proceeded to return to devouring his plate of sweets.

Sora pouted slightly as Goofy and Donald continued to thrive from his attitude. _Sure they all seem real happy to have me back…they won't even let me have a third helping of cake._

A small gasp was heard in the background as the platinum haired boy lying on the floor began to arouse from his slumber. He let out another soft moan, slowly his aquamarine eyes flickered open. A familiar mouse eared fellow was hovering over him.

"Riku!" Exasperated Mickey. He sighed with relief; everything was going to be ok. As Riku took in his surroundings he noticed that a few others were staring at him as well. Lea and Yen Sid looked at him optimistically, waiting for him to make the first move. But something didn't seem right to Riku. If he had woken up safe and sound then where was…

"Sora!" Riku exclaimed as he sat up rapidly. His worries vanished instantaneously however, as he noticed his smiling spiky haired comrade was arguing with a duck and a dog over what appeared to be a cake. There were also tea cups and other delectable's set up in a formal matter on the table. "_I must have been sleeping for too long, Sora is actually having a tea party." Riku thought. _The three of them were wearing party hats to celebrate the occasion.

"Hey!" Shouted Riku as he tried to get his friends attention. Sora slowly turned around as if he had been caught doing something wrong. Riku stifled a laugh as he noticed the disguise mask on Sora's face. When Sora finally realized what had happened he immediately discarded his hat and mask.

"Riku." Sora spoke softly. A smile formed on his boyhood face. Riku returned the grin as he scratched the back of his head. He then gasped as Sora threw his arms around him into a bear hug. "You're safe Riku!" He said. His joy was clearly being expressed in his tone. Riku struggled to sit back up due to the weight of his friend, when he finally managed to loosen Sora's crushing hold on him he drew in some fresh air to recover from the breath be knocked out of him.

"Wait, haven't we got this backwards?" Said Riku. He then looked towards the rest of the gang, daring to ask the question. "And why are you having a tea party?"

Instead of answering his questions, Sora continued to express his enthusiasm by hugging Riku again. "You're safe Riku!" He said cheerfully.

"_Why do I bother, its Sora." _Riku thought. He then sighed out of defeat and smacked himself in the head. "Ah, never mind." He said. As his train of thought finally came full circle, he finally remembered the task at hand and why he was there in the first place. "You ok, are you feeling alright?" His concern was evident.

Sora released Riku from his grip again. "Yeah I've never been better." He said with a fist pump.

"_As if that wasn't obvious enough." _Riku thought.

Sora then continued explaining his story. "I could see what was going between you guys and Xehanort during my dream. And I could hear your voice in particular the whole time. Thanks Riku." He said. Sora then turned and gestured to everyone else in the room. "Thanks everybody."

Donald, Goofy and Lea all smiled at his gesture. Everyone in the room then turned to Master Yen Sid as he cleared his throat. He then motioned for everyone to seat around his desk to resume business.

_And so Yen Sid apologized for sending Sora and Riku on this perilous journey that placed them right into Xehanort's clutches. Yen Sid then announced that Riku had shown the Mark of Mastery and was now a Keyblade Master, Sora on the other hand had failed. Nevertheless Sora was unaffected by this news and remained high spirited, Sora then departed for Traverse Town, leaving Riku and the others behind at the Mysterious Tower. _

Riku leaned against the cream colored wall and slumped to the floor. He was still trying to absorb that he was now a Keyblade Master. In his darkest hours, he truly believed that the Keyblade was not his to bear. For he had fallen so deeply into the darkness, that he teetered on the edge of becoming darkness itself. But that was all behind him now. He was now Riku the Keyblade Master. The Wielder of darkness, who serves the light. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and sighed. His eyes drooping gently, waiting to fall asleep so that he could get a chance to recover from his battle with Xehanort. However, something didn't feel quite right to Riku. He was almost positive that his pockets were empty before he entered Sora's dreams for the second time so why did he feel like he had a wad of paper crammed in his pocket. Riku pulled out the mysterious object, it was several pages of folded up paper. It had aged to a lovely shade of light brown and was crumpled from being wedged in his pocket.

"Saix's journal." Riku whispered in astonishment. He then envisioned Xion placing it in the palm of his hands gently before stuffing it into his pants pocket. He then pried it apart and attempted to smooth out the creases in it before reading.

**Saix's Diary Page that Xion Gave to Riku**

"The Replication Program has now drawn to a close due to the elimination of Vexen at Castle Oblivion. The only current known specimen that has been successful in wielding the Keyblade is number XIV Xion. The whereabouts of the puppet Vexen took to Castle Oblivion are currently unknown. Xemnas confided to me that there were more than two puppets created in the Replication Program, and that he was going to store the leftover vessels in a safe place that no one knows of except for him. The only hint he would give me to the location, was that it was his secret place. I wonder what this place could be; it couldn't be the realm of darkness for that would be far too risky to visit down there too often. Perhaps it is in a building, like Castle Oblivion, the twilight town mansion, or perhaps some hidden place in my old home.

Where ever it may be. I truly doubt it is anywhere near this world, it is far too close to the realm of darkness. Thankfully, we don't have hearts that could be corrupted. Or so we say…

Well that is all for today, their never really is much to write in these wretched things, or maybe it's just me."

Riku immediately jumped to his feet and rushed up to Yen Sids desk. He slammed the crumpled piece of paper in front of the old man, startling him slightly. Riku then tried smoothing out the sheets of paper even more before pushing it within the wizards reading range.

"These are several sheets torn out of a diary that belonged to an Organization XIII member known as Saix. They are said to contain some information that may be of use to me- I mean us." Said Riku. He scratched the back of his head nervously as the old man observed the diary pages meticulously.

"Where did you come across this Riku?" Said Yen Sid. The old wizard held the documents closer to his eyes as he read through them in depth.

Riku cleared his throat softly. "I'm afraid that secret will have to stay with me sir." Said Riku.

Yen Sid set the papers down on his desk and pushed them aside. He then looked up at Riku and smiled slightly. "And a secret it shall remain, for now." Said Yen Sid. The wizard then stood up from his luxurious throne chair and walked over to the single oval window in the room. "I have an assignment for you Master Riku, if you are willing to accept it." Said Yen Sid.

_Being a new Keyblade Master Riku was assigned a mission by Yen Sid to retrieve a potential Keyblade wielder from Destiny Islands and to bring her to him immediately. Afterwards while Donald and Goofy and Lea waited for their friends return outside of the tower King Mickey and Yen Sid were in a heated discussion over the recent turn of events that could change the fate of the worlds._

"So if we don't gather our seven guardians of light, Xehanort will target the seven princesses of heart?" Asked Mickey. The king was attempting to comprehend what Yen Sids predictions were, and unfortunately for Mickey and his friends, Yen Sid had a knack for accurate prophecies.

"Indeed Mickey. Xehanort's main goal has now been made clear. He is determined to forge the x-blade no matter what the cost is. The future he sees before him is no longer a delusion that exists only in his mind; it is now a very possible insight as to what our reality may become. The seven princesses of heart are triggers that activate the seven guardians of light. If we choose not to stand up against him, he will attack them and new guardians of light will be chosen to defend them." Said Yen Sid.

Mickey paced back and forth frantically. "_There must be a way out of this, there has to be!" He thought. _He began to ease up a bit before sitting back down in his chair. "That's it then. We're all trapped. We have to fight Xehanort and his seekers of darkness; he wants the x-blade and Kingdom Hearts to be his."

Yen Sid nodded, his eyebrows furrowed slightly to hide the sorrow that resided in his old heart. "The re-awakening of the Keyblade War looms before us. As Keyblade wielders it is our duty to protect the worlds from this calamity, we must do everything in our power to prepare for its arrival." Said Yen Sid.

"Then what can I do for now. What can the guardians of light do to protect the worlds?" Asked Mickey.

"For the time being the worlds remain safe from Xehanort's grasp. We should gather the princesses at once and alert them to the threat he has posed against him. The right thing to do is for our guardians to protect them, and in the mean time to locate all possible candidates for our legion. Your three friends that fought valiantly against Xehanort would all be ideal for the task; unfortunately we must face the truth. Xehanort has already claimed Terra for his Seekers of darkness, likely in one of his forms suitable for controlling. As for Aqua and Ventus, we must search for the girl first, for without her Ventus will remain out of our reach in Castle Oblivion. As for the rest, Sora, Riku and yourself have all proven to be worthy as guardians of light, this just leaves only two wielders to find and I believe they are closer than we think my dear King." Said Yen Sid. A slight smile formed on his face as his fingers twisted his tangled beard.

"Who!?" Blurted out Mickey.

As soon as the outburst was over a knock was heard at the door. "You may enter Riku." Pardoned Yen Sid as he motioned for the door to sway open.

Riku opened the door swiftly, shielding the guest he had brought with him from everyone's view. He then stepped aside and held the door open for a beautiful red haired girl wearing a short pink dress. Mickey's eyes grew wider and wider as the girl walked forward slowly.

Riku cleared his throat slightly and gestured towards the fair maiden casually. "Master Yen Sid, allow me to introduce Kairi, the girl you requested me to bring to you." Said Riku.

Kairi giggled at his semi-professional introduction.

"I have heard many things about you Kairi, including the fact that you can wield a Keyblade, is this true?" Asked Yen Sid. Kairi nodded her head courteously.

The Kings jaw dropped out of shock from the revelation.

…

(Meanwhile in Traverse Town)

Sora smiled joyfully as he strolled through the cobblestone square of Traverse Town. Everything was just the way he remembered it. From the red roofed Victorian styled buildings to the dim orange hued street lamps. All contained in the boundaries of a never changing starry sky. Sora paused in the center of the plaza and leaned against an iron light post staring off into the distance.

"_Where are they, I thought I'd be able to see them here." _He thought. His hopes of seeing all of his dream eater pals were starting to diminish. The longer he waited, more he felt like he was wasting his time for nothing. The air suddenly grew cool, causing him to shiver slightly.

"_Something doesn't feel right here, maybe I should leave now." _Sora started rubbing his hands together to stay warm; the air was now frigid for some strange reason. He pulled out his Keyblade and pointed it towards the world exit doors and summoned a light portal. Just as he was about to enter its depths however it closed shut.

"What is going on here?" Yelled out Sora in his confusion.

The sound of rubber boots could be heard clicking across the stone floor could be heard nearby. Sora whirled around and found himself face to face with a hooded organization XIII member. Sora immediately got into battle stance with his Keyblade pointing at the stranger. "Who are you?" He demanded.

The robed figure chuckled darkly. "You should know, Sora. Now that you are one of us." He said.

Sora clenched his teeth out of fury. "I am not one of your kind, nor will I ever be!"

"Is that so?" He said curiously as he tilted his head to the side. He then walked straight up to Sora and pointed at his heart. Sora shuddered at how cold this stranger's touch was. "The sigil, can you feel it burn when you are near me?" He said. He pressed his gloved finger sharply into Sora's chest.

Sora choked on his breath from the burning sensation in his lungs. It felt as if a thousand knives were all jabbing at his heart, trying to rip it out.

"Ah so you can feel its burn. Good, the process has already begun to take root. Very soon Sora, your heart shall be ready for what the Organization has in store for you." Said the Member with glee.

"What's…happening….to me?" Sora barely choked out. His vision was becoming blurry, he felt as if he was on the verge of passing out. Sora fell on his knees and hit the ground swiftly. All he could see was the mysterious organization member towering over him. Slowly the scenery around him began to dissolve into pitch black darkness until there was nothing left.

The last thing Sora heard before passing out was the mocking voice of the mysterious member. "Goodbye for now, Sora." Said the stranger.

The organization prodded Sora with his foot to ensure that he was now unconscious; he chuckled when he received no response. He then lifted his hands up and removed his hood. Out of its depths flowed lengthy locks of filthy sleek blond tinted hair. His once emerald eyes were now toned a sinister yellow. He felt no need to draw out his blue shield that was colder than ice itself.

Number VI The Frozen Scholar

Even stared at his victim amusedly. Just as he had suspected Xehanort's magic was already at work inside the Keyblade heroine. His motives for this encounter were as solid as his ice cold intentions. The plan had been set in motion and now all they had to do was wait for the chosen Keyblade wielder to fall right into their dark clutches.

Even summoned a dark portal and entered it swiftly. Leaving behind a broken boy who had no one to come to his rescue.

…

(Back at Radiant Garden)

Master Xehanort continued to smile with glee as the three of them had finally reached the door that led into the office of a departed noble scholar known as Ansem the Wise. The room had obviously been ransacked for some reason as papers had been scattered across the floor. Furniture had been shuffled around in search of something. A portrait of a young man with long flowing platinum hair had been torn off the wall and discarded on to the ground. Underneath were all of Xehanort's secret findings through experiments on the heart.

Master Xehanort's grin suddenly vanished, and was quickly replaced by a scowl as he realized that the entrance to the computer laboratory had been breached, possibly exposing his secret hideaway! He rushed into the room out of fury, leaving behind a bewildered Braig and Isa.

Xehanort peered over the railings that barred him from his artificial heartless factory and sighed with relief. The entrance to the underground storage room was still sealed. He then glanced over at his computer that he had hacked with the program known as MCP.

"_It's obviously been tampered with, no doubt by that boy. But no matter, it is no longer of any use to me." _Thought Xehanort. Braig and Isa then entered the computer room and admired it in awe.

"Boy it's been ages since I've last scene this room." Said Braig. He then peered over the ledge into the factory, rows of orb shaped clutches forged from steel by the thousands rested below, each one capable of producing an artificial heartless in unison. Braig walked over to Xehanort and cuffed his shoulder. "I still remember when we cranked out artificial heartless by the thousands nearly every day, eh boss man?" Said Braig coyly.

Xehanort merely grunted and began his descent down the spiral staircase to the ground level of the factory. Isa followed him suit but as he passed Braig he quickly smacked Braig on his shoulder.

"Gah! What was that for?" Complained Braig.

"Were here on a mission, quit trying to make a fool of yourself by pretending you and the Superior are best pals." Said Isa. He then resumed trailing after Xehanort.

Braig just shrugged off his accomplice's remark and followed their lead. When the three of them reached the ground level of the factory Xehanort summoned his Keyblade and pointed it directly at the steel floor several feet ahead of them. A keyhole revealed itself and Xehanort's Keyblade began to vibrate. A beam of light shot out from the tip of the blade and unlocked the keyhole. When it had finally faded away the floor surrounding it dissolved to reveal a hidden staircase.

"_So this is his secret place, I guess it doesn't surprise me after all, now that I'm with him instead of against him." _Thought Isa.

Xehanort motioned for Isa and Braig to continue following him down the final staircase that led to his private underground storage room. As they pursued on the narrow spiral descent into the deepest depths of the castle Braig's natural habit of being a chatterbox could no longer be held back.

"So Xehanort, now that we each harbor a piece of your heart inside of us, does that make us fully fledged Keyblade wielders or something?" Asked Braig.

Xehanort rolled his eyes out of annoyance. "Have either one of you taken a close look at your weapons lately, there should be a keychain hanging from each now. Each one of them should identically represent my Keyblade, symbolizing that you are a part of me. So yes, this does make you wielders of the Keyblade Braig." Said Xehanort.

As Braig and Isa examined the new discovery they had made about their weapons Xehanort sighed. "_The X-blade can only be forged by twenty Keyblade wielders both light and dark, how else did they think it would happen. By magic! Idiots." _Thought Xehanort.

At the bottom of stone staircase laid a blue tinted ornate marble door. Its design was similar to the ones found in Castle Oblivion. Xehanort merely held his arm forward and the door swayed itself open. The color of the door remained consistent in the room behind it. The illusion of chains bonding to the center of the room illuminated occasionally. The room was devoid of life, let alone a single throne chair and a pile of armor that laid before it. Braig scoffed as he recognized who the armor belonged to. He then walked towards the blue and silver hued armor and nudged it with his foot.

"Long time no see." Said Braig. As if it were responding to his statement, the armor sprung to life. Starting at the feet first, it quickly compiled itself into its full form; its arm reached down and picked up the long slender blue Keyblade that was at its feet. The armor went into battle stance and took aim at Braig. Just as it was about to slash Braig across the face, Isa intercepted it with his claymore.

Isa then slammed his knee into its gut and kicked it against the wall. The deafening clang of metal on stone echoed off the walls in the room, but the armor seemed unaffected by Isa's attack. It set its sights to Isa and charged at him instead. Isa swung his claymore and knocked it to the ground, he then held his weapon lengthwise and used his weight to pin the armor beneath it.

Xehanort chuckled as he watched the armor struggle to escape its trap. He then flicked his wrist, causing the armor to drop lifelessly. "That should temporarily subdue it. One of my greater traps that I took time developing I would say. It will attempt to destroy anyone that ever sets foot in this room." He added.

He then walked over to the center of the wall behind the chair. In the center of all the intricate carvings was another keyhole. Xehanort quickly pointed his blade at it, and sure enough the familiar click sound was heard confirming he unlocked it. This time however several creases in the wall formed in the shape of a two rectangles, these rectangles then popped out from the wall and slid aside as if they were glass doors. This revealed the two body capsule pods hidden within it. Both bodies locked in these air locked containers donned organization cloaks.

Xehanort twisted his goatee absentmindedly as he pondered over which one to choose for his dark purpose. He settled on the one to the right and opened the pod. Braig and Isa's eyes widened as the puppet stepped out of the pod on its own will. "Yes, you will do just fine." Said Xehanort gleefully.

A dark portal suddenly opened up near the entrance, and out stepped Even from its swirling depths.

"Even! Glad you could join the party too!" Said Braig mockingly.

"Oh will you just shut up already." Mumbled Even.

Braig's jaw dropped. "Already? But you just got here!" Said Braig.

Even shook his head out of annoyance. He then cleared his throat to get Xehanort's attention. Xehanort seated the puppet in the throne chair and then turned to face Even, his eyes glinted hungrily for the news he desired. "Master Xehanort, I am here to confirm that the darkness in Sora's heart has begun to develop as planned." Said Even in a dutiful manner.

Xehanort grinned mischievously. "Perfect. Then we can move on to the next step already. Isa and Braig I have an assignment for you two." Barked Xehanort.

The two of them immediately stood before him ready to receive orders. Xehanort pointed at the puppet. "This puppet here is going to be our thirteenth member, once it holds a piece of my heart." Said Xehanort.

"But I thought Sora was supposed to be our thirteenth member?" Questioned Isa.

"Originally yes. But once again, I have been forced to alter my plans accordingly to suit my goals. This puppet here will take on my appearance once It harbors my heart, however this not what I want it to be. I need this puppet to take on the appearance of Sora's dearly beloved Kairi." Said Xehanort.

"But… the only reason why Xion changed appearances was due to the fact that she was absorbing Sora's memories through Roxas. So how can we alter this things appearance without stealing anyone's memories?" Asked Braig.

Even stepped forward and examined the puppet more closely. "It's quite simple actually. If the puppet is exposed to an object of deep esteem and affection, it will take on the appearance of the objects creator. Objects that are considered symbolic to people are ideal for this, such as charms, wedding rings, treasured photos and other priceless trinkets." Said Even.

Xehanort acknowledged what Even had said and then turned to Isa and Braig. "Very well, it seems that your mission is to find an object of some emotional significance to Kairi and bring it to me at once." Said Xehanort.

"Yes Master." Said Isa. He then summoned a dark portal and stepped through.

Braig followed suit. "Righto Boss. Catch you later." He said before entering the portal.

The portal vanished in a flash, leaving behind Xehanort, Even, and a puppet. Even continued to observe the puppet more closely before realizing something. "Have you considered what its name shall be yet?"

Xehanort glared at the puppet in silence. "You know… for once… I may have to actually think about this thoroughly." Said Xehanort.

Even face palmed himself. "_Did he really just say that? He's supposed to be the all knowing mastermind here. Ugh." _He thought to himself.

…

Darkness.

Light will fall into darkness, and darkness will fade to light. And he was destined to be the darkness. While Riku returned to the light.

That is all that Sora could think about. That one little shred of truth is all that kept his light burning strong. Even though he felt as if he had been sucked into a never ending sink hole with no hope of escape. "Why is this happening? What am I going to become?" He asked himself.

He awaited a response. But from what, he didn't know. He inhaled deeply only to exhale slowly. "Maybe what Xehanort said was true. This is all destined to happen. The seven guardians of light and the thirteen seekers of darkness will fight to form the Keyblade. And he would be one of Xehanort's Organization members, attacking the light, attacking… his friends. Sora felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn't bother to wipe them away, for who was around to hide them from.

"Sora!" A muffled male voice yelled out.

Sora immediately wiped away his tears. He couldn't believe that someone was there.

"Sora please…wake up." Cried out a female voice.

"Could that be…Kairi?" Sora whispered to himself.

Suddenly an orb of light formed in front of Sora, it then morphed into the shape of a familiar young woman. The heavenly female figure held out her arm for Sora. He reached out rather slowly and grabbed a hold of her firmly. She then pulled him closer and clasped his hands tightly in hers.

"Sora…come back." The female voice called out softly. As the golden girl slowly wrapped her arms around his chest, the voices started to become less muffled.

"Sora…Sora…Sora!...SORA!" The two voices cried in unison. At that last shout of his name, Sora shut his eyes tightly and then slowly opened them. A blurry head was hanging over him, mouthing his name. Sora forced himself to blink a few more times. As his vision began to refocus he noticed that the figure had long flowing red hair, with crystal clear blue eyes brimming with tears.

The woman noticed that he was starting to awaken. She then dried up her tears quickly with the back of her hand. "He's waking up!" She yelled out with joy.

Sora then figured out in an instant who this gorgeous girl was. He slowly reached up and stroked her cream skinned face gently with his hand. "Kairi… is that really you?" He asked softly.

Kairi giggled at his uncertainty. "Yes Sora, it really is." She said.

Sora moaned as he sat up, he felt like he had been pinned under a ton of bricks and was finally being released. "Aaaahhhh my neck hurts." He complained in a jokingly manner.

He was then caught off guard however by another presence in the room. "That's it? You looked as if someone had wiped the floor with you and all you're complaining about is your neck hurting?" Said Riku. He was leaning against the wall several feet from Sora's bed.

Sora looked around the room. Last time he remembered, he passed out on a cold stone floor. Now he was resting in his cozy bed with midnight blue sheets. The cream colored walls were mostly bare despite the handful of photos hanging up above his bed. He then peered over the edge of the bed to see his floor. The usual collaboration of shorts and t-shirts that covered his floor had been put away neatly in his closet, no doubt by his mother. He then looked back up at Kairi, who was wearing her usual short pink dress with a smile. Sora smiled, he was home.

"So are you going to talk or you just going to sit there and gawk?" Said Riku mockingly.

Sora glanced back at Riku. "I'd like to do both, but first I got a question." Said Sora.

"Ask away, only if I get to do the same." Replied Riku.

"Deal. Ok, so how did I end up from Traverse Town to my bedroom?" Asked Sora as he gestured with his fingers moving from one place to another.

"I can answer that." Chimed in Kairi. "Riku and I were waiting for you to return at Yen Sid's tower. After you were gone for several hours Riku went off to look for you, and found you collapsed in the town square. So when Riku brought you back Yen Sid told us to take you home and wait for you to wake up." She added.

"Ah, I see….how long was I out?" Asked Sora.

"Easy tiger, first I want to know what went down back there that left you unconscious." Asked Riku.

Sora sat silent for a moment as he struggled to recall everything. "Well…I remember entering the town square and leaning against a lamppost waiting to see if my dream eaters would show up. And when they didn't I tried leaving but I was stopped in my tracks by an Organization member. They said that I belonged among their ranks now and when I denied it….. he must have attacked me or something. I don't remember anything after that." Said Sora. He knew in his head exactly what caused him to pass out but he wasn't about to say that in front of Kairi.

"Did you recognize the member at all?" Riku continued.

"No. He kept his hood on the whole time. It definitely wasn't Xehanort himself but they were one of his followers." Answered Sora.

Riku stroked his chin as he absorbed everything Sora had told him about his mysterious encounter. "Well, I can say that this was a bit of a close call for you Sora. So for now, no more solo adventures in other worlds unless you really have to." Ordered Riku.

Sora's smile changed into a pout face. "Sheesh. Just because you're a Keyblade master now doesn't mean you gotta treat me like a kid…I'm almost 16 Riku!" Complained Sora.

Riku chuckled at his friends comment. "This has nothing to do with how childish you can be nor what I have become. It's just a temporary precaution to avoid having me drag you back here like deadweight." Said Riku. Sora continued to scowl.

Kairi placed her hand gently on his padded shoulder. "Cheer up Sora; we're just glad you're ok." She said. She then got off of Sora's bed and stood up. "How about we go for a walk Sora, it'll do you good to get some fresh air and take your mind off of these things." Said Kairi. She then offered her hand to help him up.

Sora glanced at Kairi, then back to Riku. Riku nodded in agreement. "Go on Sora, we can discuss things later but for now, I think you've earned a break." Said Riku. Sora then grabbed a hold of Kairi's hand and stood up.

"Fine, you win." He sighed in defeat. Kairi let out her usual feminine giggle and lead him out of the room, down the wooden floor staircase and out the front door.

As Sora stepped outside he was greeted by a bright blue sky. The sound of the ocean waves crashing upon shore could be heard in the distance and smell of sea salt filled the air. A few palm trees with lush green leaves were in several of his neighbor's yards.

"If feels good to be home Kairi." Sighed Sora as the two of them walked down the sidewalk leading to the beach.

"It didn't feel like home to me without you, Sora." Said Kairi quietly.

Sora turned and looked back at Kairi. She did the same, blushing slightly. Sora then wrapped his right arm around Kairi's waist and pulled her close to him. "It wouldn't feel like home without you either Kairi." He replied.

…

Well this concludes chapter 3 of Kingdom Hearts: Xehanort's Ambitions. Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think by reviewing below!

Thanks again!

Be back with Chapter 4 soon!


	4. Chapter 4: Unbreakable Bonds

Well here it is the complete chapter four is officially up! And I even threw in a little bonus for your patience; this chapter is approximately 3000 words longer than all of the previous chapters in this story so far! So thank you for waiting and I apologize for the delay In posting.

Note: I am now attempting to do character point of view takes on various parts of this story, mainly when it fits the moment such as this chapter in particular. I'd appreciate any comments on how good/bad it is, it's been a while since I've wrote in first person.

No I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney Characters that appear in this story. That honor belongs to Square Enix and of course Disney. I only claim the plot that I am throwing them into. Happy Reading!

Kingdom Hearts III: Xehanorts Ambitions

Chapter 4

Unbreakable Bonds

A middle aged woman with shoulder length brunette hair was sweeping the wooden oak floor of her treasured kitchen. She had always loved to cook since she was a little girl. Back in the day she would pick various fruits from the island trees and cut them into unique shapes with the help of her mother. When she had first married her husband, she would spend hours on end preparing extravagant meals for him and their only son every evening. However as her son grew older and was able to attend school, she found herself searching the ads in the paper for a job, and before she knew it that time to cook was gone. Then one day her husband left, leaving behind a stack of divorce papers on the marble counter tops, saying that they had grown so far apart that he no longer wanted to try. In the blink of an eye, her life had been shattered.

Her seven year old son came home that afternoon from his friend's house, he wanted to know when dinner would be ready so that he could tell dad about the cave he discovered out on the island.

This is Sakura, the mother of the keyblade wielder everyone would come to know as Sora. That fateful day she was heartbroken, when she had told Sora the news, he didn't quite understand.

"When is dad coming home?" He would ask every day. Sakura could only say that she didn't know. Often times he would drop it till the next day, but every once in a while he would burst out in tears in response to her answer.

"Does dad not like me anymore?" He would ask as he sobbed. This pattern reoccurred daily through that first difficult year, making every day Sakura woke up to a struggle for survival. Not only for the survival of her son, but for her sanity.

As the years have gone by Sakura has adapted well to the lifestyle of being a single mother, and has found ways to keep her passions thriving. Sora had significantly coped with the situation too; yes there were difficult times in which Sakura struggled with her son, but without a father figure in his life, who was to blame him for some of his actions. Even though her son appeared to be a perfectly happy bright boy to this very day, she knew deep down that he still struggled with his hidden emotions tied to his father's departure over eight years ago.

On this day she found herself cleaning the house so that she didn't have to count on Sora doing it when he got home later from his date. Yes, she loved him, but she always shuttered at the thought of him wrecking her silky white aprons by throwing it in the washing machine with his beloved red shorts. She quietly hummed to herself as she folded various garments neatly into two separate piles. Overhead she could here the water running through the pipes in the ceiling, most likely from Sora taking a shower before he went to meet up with his date.

Sakura was thrilled when Sora told her that he had finally asked the girl out that he's had a crush on since elementary school. The one thing she hated to admit though was the tiny little worry that if their relationship would end, Sora would be heartbroken again. But she wouldn't allow those thoughts to trouble her, not now, not ever.

…

The tiled bathroom walls were covered with a thin film of water, slowly forming droplets before it hit the green rug below. Behind the palm tree shower curtain, Sora was showering. He ducked his hair in the hot flowing water again before scrubbing it with axe shampoo.

"Cursed hair, why won't you lay flat!" He muttered. He had already wasted at least half an hour trying to get his coarse spiky brown hair to relax, even just a little bit. But no matter how many times he soaked, scrubbed, or lathered it with shampoo it refused to surrender. Finally admitting defeat he turned his back on the shower head and allowed the intensely heated water to flow over his shoulders, traveling down his back and chest before hitting the sand toned tile floor.

He sighed deeply, as the water eased his worries away. _"You gotta stay calm Sora; it's just like hanging with Kairi any other day, only it will just be you…and her…all alone…on an island…with no one to interrupt." _He gulped. The thought of not impressing her in any way loomed over his head.

He trembled slightly at the thought, then reached for the silver knob and twisted it to the off position. The water slowed to just a trickle leaving Sora uneasy again. He grabbed the tan towel hanging on the shower curtain beam and wrapped it around his waist loosely.

After he had tucked it in gently he strolled over to the fogged mirror of the marble counter sink. _"Dam. Forgot to turn on the dehumidifier again." _He grabbed one of the small green towels sitting in a basket by the wall and wiped away the steam from it. As his reflection became more and more visible he noticed a slight discoloration on his chest, especially around his heart.

"_I wonder if this has anything to do with what Xehanort said while I was in that deep sleep. Or what the hooded man said at Traverse Town. Maybe something is happening to me. Or maybe I'm just tanning rather oddly… I better talk to Riku about this later." _He chose to put that thought off his mind for now and focus on getting ready. He combed his hair back into its usual spiky form and applied some cologne.

Sora then began to fantasize a little about how to greet Kairi when he saw her. He picked up his comb and pretended it was a bouquet of flowers. "For you, my dear." He said as he bowed gently and held them out to an imaginary Kairi. His towel suddenly fell off however and exposed his bare body. Sora shook his head as he chuckled at his appearance. "Yeah, that out to impress her alright." He said sarcastically.

He then got dressed in a blue and white plaid button up shirt with tan khaki shorts. After applying one last sprits of cologne he exited the bathroom and went to pick up his grey rucksack he left in his bedroom. He quickly double checked to make sure he had everything. "Towel, check. Sunscreen, check. Catchphrase list…check. Wait, what's this?" He questioned as he pulled out a small box that was not on his mental checklist. It was a box of contraceptives. On the front of the box was a small post it note.

"Just in case. Love Mom."

"Seriously?" Sora shook his head and tossed the box aside. _"Like I would need them anyway, this is only our first date!"_ He then retied the rucksack and left the room. Sakura was waiting for him as he slid down the wooden staircase railing. She was smiling ear to ear as she gave him a hug.

"My baby is growing up to fast!" She cried to herself.

"Mom, please I'm kind of in hurry." Said Sora as he tried to free himself of her death grip. She quickly let him go and undid the top two buttons on his shirt, then straightened out his collar.

"Their. Girls tend to like that." She said as she moved on to fixing his hair.

"Mom!" Sora moaned.

Sakura then backed off and admired her son as if he were a work of art. "You look adorable, just like…" Her smile faded as she realized what she was about to say. Sora waited for her response, but it never came.

"Never mind then. Do you have everything in your bag?"

"Yes mom, I already checked."

"Do you have your beach towel?"

"Yes."

"Sunscreen?"

"Yes."

"Teeth brushed?"

"Yes."

"Hair combed?"

"Yes Mom."

"Alright then, don't forget to compliment on how she looks and be sure to play safe!" She said before ushering him out the front door.

"Mom!" He complained. He then walked down the sidewalk promptly, hearing the door shut behind him softly. This is it, the big day, the one he had been anticipating since he was only 7 years old. As the ocean came into view he began jogging, he didn't want to keep her waiting for him.

…

(And now my attempt at 1st person view)

(Sora's Point of View)

This was it. Today was the day that I was finally going on a date with the most gorgeous girl I have ever known. The one person I had call my friend since I was five, would now be something far grander than that.

My heart pulsed rapidly as I treaded across the warm ginger tinted sand. I had chosen to wear a blue and white plaid button up shirt with tan khaki shorts for the occasion. I even attempted to lay my hair flat with a really strong hair gel. Unfortunately it did absolutely nothing to tame my spiky brown hair. The sand was slipping through my brown sandals; its warming sensation soothed me as I increasingly became nervous at what I was approaching.

Several feet away from me laid the boating docks. The salt from the ocean had clearly worn away at them over the years, but each one of them held as strong as the day they were built. However my worries were not stemming over the chance of falling in, no. The source of my mounting anticipation was the stunning red haired girl waiting by my rowboat. She was wearing a knee length ocean blue skirt with a white shoulder length shirt. In a way it resembled our local school uniform but was clearly in a form of her own design. On her right shoulder rested a tan purse strap that reached down to her slim waist.

My right footstep echoed off the wooden dock, alerting her to my arrival. She immediately quit staring off at the small island ahead of her to greet me.

"Hi Sora. Beautiful morning isn't it?" Kairi spoke cheerfully. Her sky blue eyes glinted in the sunlight. I inhaled deeply as I tried to regain my focus.

"Yeah. It feels great to return to this peaceful weather." I smiled nervously and chuckled. I kept telling myself that this was just like any other day I've spent with her before. Except that we were going to be alone…for a whole day…what have I gotten myself into? I then stepped into the rowboat and offered Kairi my hand.

"Why thank you, Sora." She giggled at my attempt at being a gentleman. As she gripped my extended hand firmly I felt a sudden rush ensnare my body. Kairi set one foot into the boat and paused as she tried to maintain her balance. Her other foot on the dock then slipped. "Ahh!" She screamed before I caught her swiftly in my arms.

"That was a close one, wasn't it?" I said to her. She then lifted her head from my chest and looked into my eyes. She beamed another smile.

"Hehe. Yeah it was, I could have fallen in the water. Probably wouldn't be the best way to start off our first date." She then ran her hand gently down the back of my neck. I shuddered with excitement at her gentle touch. The two of us laughed at our awkwardness. As our laughter subsided however I noticed that her face was constantly inching closer to me. I finally put two and two together and realized what she was after. But I couldn't make the move…not yet.

"S-so are you ready to head out to the island?" I interrupted. Kairi's eyes sank slightly at the disappointment but she maintained her smile. She then let go of me and sat on her end of the boat.

"Ready whenever you are." She replied. I could still tell she was bitterly disappointed over me killing the moment, I then vowed that I would make it up to her later, a promise I intended to keep to myself.

"Alright then, let's set sail." I reached down into the bottom of the boat and pulled out the oars. As the water splashed back at me for forcibly shoving them into the water Kairi giggled. At least I could always count on doing something stupid to put her in a good mood. I quickly untied the boat from the dock pole and pushed the oars with all of my might, setting us off into the sea. Our first date had finally begun.

AN: (And that is likely the only scene I will ever write in 1st person for this story)

(And now back to my usual 3rd person style)

…

An evil cloaked fairy stood on the balcony of the deserted castle she had formerly claimed as her own. Her cloak slightly swayed in the evening breeze. As she stared into the sunset she raised her grey discolored hand and pretended to extinguish it.

"Light." She spoke with disgust. "That keyblade bearer and his lackeys have ruined this world with their attempts to restore it. What a waste of time for them however, once I enact my way of conquering all of the worlds." She then craned her neck to see her loyal large minion snoozing against the stone wall. "Pete! Get up at once!" She snapped at him out of fury. Pete immediately snapped out of his daze and saluted the witch.

"Yes Maleficent!" He retorted. He then shuddered slightly, waiting for her to bombard him with her usual slur of insults. However, she instead smiled wickedly at him, stroking her glowing green scepter meticulously.

"I must ask of you to go spy on the people that are apparently calling this castle home these days. They may be of use to me." She ordered.

"Right away Maleficent! You can count on me! Heartless squadron rou-!"

"You will not fight them unless they attack you first." She interrupted. Pete folded his arms and grumbled.

"Fine. But I think it would be much easier to just go ahead and turn them into heartless right away, I can sense that they are powerful." Mumbled Pete. He then opened a dark portal and stumbled right into it. As the dark portal sealed itself Maleficent drew in a deep breath and sighed.

"You can come out know Xehanort; I know you've been eavesdropping on me." Said Maleficent with a dark chuckle. A dark portal reappeared in the spot where Pete departed, and out of its depths stepped out Master Xehanort. He grinned mischievously as he strolled on over to the evil fairy.

"Very perceptive Maleficent, I've heard of your accomplishments' while I have been absent these past few years. I have also heard of your defeat from that annoying boy Sora. So the question is, what are you still doing here?" He asked. Her smile then switched into a viscous scowl.

"I was about to ask the same of you, Xehanort! That boy has interfered with my plans on numerous counts but I have now found my own way to conquer the worlds, and although I found your advice in the past quite useful, I no longer require your assistance in my plans for universal domination." She sneered. Xehanort merely chuckled at her empty words.

"Is that so? Well then I suppose requesting you to rebuild your heartless forces would be to much ask of then now would it?" He then watched as Maleficent squinted her eyes at him.

"I'm listening." She replied as she resumed stroking her scepter.

"I have a plan for conquering all of the worlds my dear, but I am afraid that I require your services in order for it to come to fruition." He said with a courteous nod of respect towards her. Maleficent paused for a moment to consider his request.

"What exactly… did you have in mind?" She asked. Xehanort chuckled.

"I need to recreate the heartless battle that my nobody Xemnas created in this world recently, but this time it needs to be of formidable strength."

Maleficent's green eyes widened bemusedly. "And what will I get in return, Xehanort?" The old man reopened his dark portal and walked towards it. He then turned back to answer her question.

"I will find away for you to retrieve this "data" that you so desperately seek." He replied. He then paused for a moment to wait for to respond. Maleficent's jaw dropped slightly, she was bewildered as to how he had discovered her plans. Her shock however then faded back into her usual wicked demeanor.

"We have a deal then, Xehanort."

…

The two love struck teenagers had arrived on shore nearly an hour ago and had been walking along the edge of the water since. Sora had kicked off his brown sandals to avoid getting them soaked; Kairi had done the same with her blue flip flops as well. They had discarded their personal items and beach towels further up shore for later. Sora drew in a breath of fresh sea air, allowing him to remain at ease.

"_This isn't so bad. It's just like any other day I've spent with her, only now we're holding hands… It feels really natural now that I think about it."_ Sora thought to himself. He continued to enjoy his time with her as the warm salt water covered their feet from time to time. Kairi then turned her head slightly and glanced at his face before blushing and staring back ahead.

"This is nice, isn't it Sora?" Asked Kairi. Sora snapped out of his innermost thoughts and focused back on her.

"Yeah, it's a great day out. It makes me wonder what the weather is like wherever Riku is at now." Sora's content smile faltered slightly. Kairi took notice of this and began to stroke his hand with her thumb comfortingly.

"He's been gone quite a bit lately. Does he ever tell you what his missions are about these days?" She asked. He found her attempts at breaking the ice a little to be cute, but refrained from chuckling.

"He says he isn't allowed to tell anyone what his missions are, but he mentions if he met someone I know that says hello. Other than that I hardly see him, he'll get back late at night and will be gone early the next morning. Yen Sid has him running errands left and right like he's his own personal delivery boy." He spoke that last line with a hint of jealousy. The fact that he had failed the Mark of Mastery Exam hadn't really bothered him right off the bat. Even when he found out the Riku had passed he wasn't mad at all, in fact he felt proud of his best friend for he knew deep down he had deserved it for saving his life. But now that time had passed, he was a little upset that Riku was getting the opportunity to leave all the time and explore other worlds.

Kairi caught the hint that he was upset about the closure to his recent journey. She then inched closer to Sora and wrapped her right arm around his waist. She giggled as his blue eyes darted to her, still not believing that she had just made the first move.

"I know you're disappointed about not becoming a Keyblade Master, and I understand that you wish you could be out on missions with Riku. But Sora, I think you don't realize just how much more important you are than just a Keyblade wielder." Said Kairi. Sora gave his traditional cheeky grin as he wrapped his left arm around her slender waist.

"Important how? I'm just like every other guy out there. Or am I just not seeing where you're going with this?" Sora said slyly, attempting to flatter her. Kairi cut off their walk immediately and turned Sora to face her.

"Sora, you're an amazing person. You are forgiving of everyone you know, and can make friends almost wherever you go. You have opened up your heart to so many people and have gone out of your way to save them. Last year, you turned the keyblade on yourself just to return me to my body. You safeguarded me in your heart when our world was destroyed and took me on the journey of a lifetime. A-and after all this time Sora…I've fallen for you." Kairi stared straight into Sora's eyes for a moment. Speaking straight from the heart was testing her emotions till they reached the bursting point. Sora was speechless; Kairi had just said that she loved him. Something that he had longed to hear but believed the day would never come. He slid his hands up from her waist and across her back, then pulled her into a tender hug.

"Kairi, I've always cared about you too. That night when our home was lost to the darkness, I thought I had lost you for good. My heart ached just thinking about you and when I realized that you were trapped inside of me. I knew then that nothing else mattered to me, not even what all the worlds could offer me would interfere with the girl that I treasured the most." Sora whispered softly as she rested her head against his chest.

Kairi let out a small sob, a single tear trickled down her face. "I missed you so much." She sobbed quietly. Sora stroked her back comfortingly and reassured her.

"So did I Kairi. So did I." He said calmly. There embrace grew tighter, little did they know however, that there was people lurking in the shadows.

…

In the tallest moss covered palm tree on all of Destiny Islands is a small but well built tree house. During their child Sora and Riku would play up there daily. However as the years had passed they preferred to sit or lean against the crooked palm tree and chat instead. On this particular day however two cloaked men resided in the old wooden tree house, trying to remain out of the young couples view. The man with aging hair in a ponytail and an eye patch peeked out of the window at Sora and Kairi. He snickered as he witnessed the two of them hugging.

"Ahh how cute. The kiddo got himself a girlfriend, but not just any girl. He got a genuine bona fide princess of heart to fall for him." Braig said mockingly. The other member with long sleek blue hair sighed before dragging his fellow comrade down from the window by his shoulder.

"Do you want to be discovered?" Isa sneered. Braig rolled his visible yellow eye.

"Oh relax Isa. We've been spying on these two clowns for a week already! If they haven't noticed us yet than I doubt they ever will!" Braig complained throwing his arms up in the air for emphasis. Isa shook his head as he continued to flip through the pages of a small pink leather book.

"Whatever. Just keep quiet while I examine this to see if she mentions any object that might fit the bill." Muttered Isa.

"Are you still messing with her diary? We already searched her bedroom. Twice! And still found nothing, what makes you think she wrote something important like that in a measly little book!" Braig scoffed. Isa slammed the book shut and glared at Braig viscously.

"For your information, Braig, this is a diary not just a book you find on a dusty old shelf. Didn't you ever write in yours during our time under Xemnas's rule?" Isa interrogated him. Braig laughed.

"As if! The minute you walked out of the room after handing me that piece of trash I threw it up at the ceiling and used it for target practice." Braig smiled amusedly as he reminisced on that glorious memory. Isa gave up and went back to examining Kairi's diary, desperately searching for a clue as to what they needed. Braig peeked out of the window again and noticed that Sora and Kairi had walked over the bridge and onto the isolated island off shore. They appeared to be having some sort of picnic; this reminded him that he hadn't eaten since last night. His stomach growled in reply.

"Hey Isa. The kiddos are having lunch right now, don't you think its time we go out and grab a quick bite to eat?" Braig suggested. Isa ignored him for he had become fascinated with what he was reading on a certain entry. He suddenly closed the book and stood up rapidly.

"I think I found a clue as to where she may have hidden something very dear to her, but we need to act now while they aren't looking. Its located in a cave somewhere down there." Directed Isa as he pointed at the beach below. Braig followed his lead and then summoned a dark portal.

"Well then let's get this over with already! I'm starving!" Complained Braig as he ushered Isa into the portal.

…

Sora and Kairi were sitting on the crooked palm tree that had arched itself over the ocean. A red and white checkered picnic blanket had been neatly folded up and discarded at the base of the tree. Along with the several empty sandwich bags and a banana peel. The two of them had just finished lunch and were relaxing before doing anything to active. Sora yawned loudly, causing Kairi to nudge him playfully.

"Tired already Sora? You always have been a lazy bum." She giggled. Sora rolled his eyes and stood up. He put on a serious face and acted like he was carrying something heavy. As if he was someone really macho.

"Why do I always end up doing all the work around here, you two are a bunch of slackers!" He grunted mockingly. Kairi laughed even harder than before.

"Is that supposed to be you're impersonation of Riku?" She teased. Sora jumped down from the tree and landed firmly on his feet. He then gently lifted Kairi down and twirled her before gracefully setting her down.

"You know, for someone that was in tears just an hour ago you've really cheered up quickly." Sora commented. Kairi blushed slightly, knowing that he was right. Sora took note of this and decided to open up a bit more to her. "Did I ever tell you how cute you are whenever you blush?" He then lightly brushed his hand up the side of her rosy cheek. This only made her blush more intensely, turning her face a deep shade of red.

"You are such a goof. You know that right?" She replied as she tried to save herself from any further embarrassment. Sora suddenly lightly pecked her on her cheek. Catching her off guard.

"I know I am. Which is why nothing is stopping me from doing this." He said with his infamous grin. Kairi's eyes widened with amazement as he suddenly unbuttoned his plaid shirt and tossed it aside.

"_You're dreaming now Kairi. There is no way that he just took off his shirt for you. It's all just a dream. And you know deep down that you don't want to wake up."_ Kairi kept telling herself as her heart began to race rapidly. Her dream however suddenly appeared to come to an abrupt end when Sora then dived off the island and plunged into the ocean several feet below. Kairi bolted to the edge and peered over, searching for any sign of him. "Sora!" She cried out in distress. She then spotted bubbles forming on the surface of the water and suddenly Sora jumped out of the water gasping for air. He grinned cheekily as he saw the reaction on Kairi's face.

"Hey Kairi, why do you look so upset. I thought you were starting to have fun?" Sora called out to her as he began to backstroke. Occasionally kicking his feet on the surface of the water. Kairi's shocked expression suddenly flickered into anger.

"Having fun! Sora you nearly gave me a heart attack!" She yelled at him angrily. She clenched her fists tightly as her breathing grew deeper. Sora just laughed as squirted water from his mouth.

"Aww come on Kairi relax. You know I wouldn't do anything reckless just to scare you. Why don't you jump down here for a swim with me, the water feels great!" He replied as he motioned her to jump. Kairi huffed as she brushed her hair out of her face.

"Fine. Just give me a moment to get ready." She then walked away from Sora's view so that she could change into her bikini with in some privacy. Sora playfully batted at the water as he waited for her to finish. After what seemed like an eternity to him he called out to Kairi.

"You almost ready Kairi?" He said searching for any sign of her.

"Just about." She replied. Within a few seconds she then stepped out into the open dressed in two piece white bikini. Sora whistled with pleasure. Kairi just smirked. "Easy their lover boy. I still have to get down there." Sora rolled his blue eyes.

"That's easy. Just jump." He said.

"I don't want risk getting hurt on the way down." She mumbled nervously.

"Kairi don't worry. I'll catch you I promise." He said holding his arms out for her. Kairi rocked back and forth on her feet, contemplating the situation. She then crossed her arms across her chest and wrapped her hands over her shoulders tightly.

"Ok. Here I go." She took a deep breath before jumping off of the cliff, Sora held his arms out firmly, bracing for the impact. Kairi slipped neatly into the water; moments later she resurfaced and found herself in Sora's arms. She opened her eyes and stared up at Sora as she clutched his bare chest tightly. Sora just smiled.

"I promised I would catch you, didn't I?" He said teasingly. Kairi laughed vaguely but then the two of them fell silent. This was the first time they had truly felt connected to one another. They were just beginning to realize that they were forming a bond together. Kairi then pecked Sora on his cheek, finally managing to get him to blush. However he then noticed that Kairi got a devious look in her eyes, she suddenly dived underwater and resurfaced several feet away.

"What are you-"He was then cut off by a wave of water that Kairi had shot at his face. Sora shook the water out of his hair and spat out what little remained in his mouth. He then smiled mischievously. "So that's how you want to play then." He then splashed water back at Kairi. She dove off to side to avoid it.

"Missed me Sora!" She said playfully as she splashed more water at his face. Sora then spread both of his arms out as wide as he could before pulling them together to form a wave. The wave projectiled itself towards Kairi but she merely dived underwater and flowed with it. She then resurfaced immediately and taunted him.

"Come on Sora I thought you were better than that!" She said with a giggle. But found that Sora was no where in sight. She began to worry again. "Sora." She called out. She then suddenly screamed as something had grabbed a hold of her leg and was dragging her down. She kicked furiously hoping to shake her attacker off. After her leg was free she swam several feet away from her previous spot. Sora then resurfaced gasping for air. He then rubbed his head painfully.

"Dang Kairi, can't you take a joke." He moaned as he rubbed his head. A smirk was on his face for managing to catch her off guard but clearly getting pummeled in the head wasn't what he had in mind.

"Serves you right." Kairi huffed. She then went back to splashing water at him. Sora quickly got over being trounced at resumed splashing as well.

…

While the two of them were enjoying there water fight, Braig and Isa's mission had led them to yet another dead end. Isa studied the walls of the cave meticulously, attempting to derive some sort of significance from the thousands of drawings surrounding them.

"Give. It. Up Isa! There is no object hidden in here, it's obviously just a place where they all played and scribbled as kids." Braig said annoyingly. Isa ignored his remark and continued observing one drawing in particular. Braig sighed and chose to find out what was so interesting. Isa pointed his finger on a drawing of a spiky haired boy sharing a star shaped fruit with a crudely drawn long haired girl.

"I think we have all we need right here." Said Isa as he stood up, never breaking his focus on the picture. Braig's eye lit up with excitement.

"Great! So then let's just cut this drawing out of the wall and bring it back to Even!" He said joyfully. Isa turned his head slowly to face Braig, he then slapped Braig fiercely across the face.

"Yes Braig lets bring an enormous boulder that weighs over a ton back to Even so he can have the puppet play with it. I'm sure our Superior would be thrilled with that." Said Isa sarcastically. Braig rubbed his jaw painfully.

"You know, you abusing me is getting old real fast. And besides I was just kidding anyways. No need to throw a hissy fit." Said Braig. Isa just shook his head.

"Idiot." He mumbled as he bent down to observe the drawing more closely. He then pointed at the star shaped object that the two hands were exchanging with one another. "You see these star shaped things, these are what we are most likely looking for. We just have to find out where those two keep them and then we can snatch one when they least suspect it." Said Isa as he clutched the air viciously. Imagining the look on Xehanorts face once he brought him one step closer to his goal.

Braig yawned. "So is that all then. Because I want to get this over with so we can RTC already." Isa rolled his eyes and stood back up.

"Let's observe them from afar a little longer. I'm almost positive that whatever it is that we seek is with them right now. All we have to do is wait to see where they are hiding it." Said Isa darkly.

…

A light portal opened up in the middle of the square of the World that Never was. Riku quickly dodge rolled out of it with keyblade in hand, preparing to be ambushed at any second. He paused for a moment as his cerulean eyes scanned the alleyways between the sky high towers. As usual the sky was dark and gloomy, with rainfall occurring every now and then. A crack of lightning illuminated the ghastly white castle that hovered eerily in the clouds. Riku stared up hopefully in anticipation, praying that the information he sought was hidden up above.

"_The coast seems to be clear. Their isn't a single nobody or heartless in sight. That's rather odd."_ He thought. Riku then dismissed his keyblade and started traveling in the direction of the Organizations castle. Eventually the he arrived at the castles base and strangely enough, the invisible walkway had been activated and the entrance had been left wide open. Riku summoned the way to dawn and held it at his side.

"_Something's going on here, and I intend to find out."_ Riku cautiously treaded across the solid see through pathway. It occasionally gleamed as if it were made of glass, but still gave the illusion as if he were walking on air. As he crossed the threshold into the white sanctum a familiar swish echoed off the walls. Riku froze in the center of the room as a dozen dusks surrounded him in a heartbeat.

"Dam. I knew it." He cursed as he assumed battle his battle stance. The three dusks before him swayed tauntingly towards him. Distracting him long enough for two of them to slash at his back. Riku yelped in pain and immediately tore through the devious duo with ease, reducing them to mist. He then pointed at the trio still swaying ominously in front of him and cast dark fiaraga. A ball of black flame engulfed the bodies almost instantly reducing them to ash. The remaining several dusks remaining began to swerve in the opposite direction, seeking refuge from their intruder.

"Not so fast! Dark Splicer!" Riku hollered. He then closed his eyes and meditated intensely as he summoned all of his strength for his most deadly attack. Slowly his feet lifted off of the marble floor, until he was levitating a few feet above it. Riku then suddenly opened his eyes and warped in the direction of the closest two. He slashed at them mercilessly reducing them to nothing. He then warped again and unleashed another deadly combo upon a quadruple group. The dusks squirmed in agony as he hacked away at them with a second round of attacks. As they vanquished into their surroundings he noticed that only one was flailing across the room in its pathetic attempt to escape.

"Lights out!" He said with a laugh as he warped directly above the creature. His keyblade glowed with power of darkness as he brought it through the dusks head and down to its feet. The empty being shriveled up into pieces before vanishing into thin air. Even though his enemies had been defeated, he refused to let his guard down.

"I know someone is hiding in the shadows here. This is my only warning to you, show yourself now!" Riku commanded. He listened intently, his eyes flickering to all corners of the room waiting for someone to reveal themselves. No response. The room appeared to be completely devoid of any living being other than himself.

"_I could've sworn that this ambush was planned. Maybe the dusks were just looking for a tousle with the intruder of their realm." _Riku scratched the back of his head out of frustration. He then dismissed his keyblade and walked up the smooth stone staircase before him. As he exited the room a soft hearty chuckle emitted from the balcony structured above the castles entrance.

Little did Riku know it, but someone had been observing him from the shadows, but this hidden stranger however had no control over the nobodies and their reckless behavior. As his illusionary shield wore off, a broad shouldered man wearing a grey cloak with black tassels glared at Riku as he walked off into the distance. A smirk was on his muscular toned face. His greasy light brown hair was frazzled and spiky as always, a heavy tomahawk rested at his right foot. Suddenly a light portal opened up behind him and out stepped another young man dressed in an identical outfit. He only came up to about the brown haired ones shoulder in height and had a particular lavender tone to his stringy spiky hair.

"What is Riku doing here of all places?" Questioned the lavender haired man as he flipped through the pages of his lexicon in search of an answer. The brunette haired man sighed and ducked his head down.

"I don't have a clue Ienzo, but I don't think he'll cause too much trouble when it comes to interfering with our mission." He then walked towards the portal and stepped through without glancing back at his accomplice. Ienzo suddenly realized his partner was gone and bolted for the portal.

"Wait up Aeleus!" He cried out waving his lexicon madly in the air.

…

Riku finally arrived at the elevator that would take him to the top floor where the members bedrooms were located. As he stepped into the large glass chamber however he noticed that the elevator was able to take him the basement level of the castle, a place he had yet to explore. He reluctantly pointed his finger at the top floor button first, but decided to go with his curiosity and chose the basement instead.

"What the heck. Maybe something good to know will actually be down there." He muttered to reassure his decision. After waiting for at least 3 minutes the elevator froze at the basement level with a deafening screech. Riku covered his ears to avoid the ear splitting sound but it didn't matter anyways, the noise still managed to cause his head to throb in agony. After his pain subdued he saw the glass doors slide open to reveal something far grander than he could have ever imagined. A huge widescreen monitor was bolted into the wall before him along with it was a keyboard and a mouse resting on its Nobody symbol shaped pad.

"The Organizations computer database. Yes!" Riku fist pumped with glee. He had just made one of his best discoveries in terms of finding more information on Xehanort. Riku quickly rushed over to the keyboard and sat in the cushy black seat parked right in front of it. He found the power button on the far right corner of the monitor. It flickered for a moment before the server responded to him.

"Please enter security code." The robotic voice requested. Riku's heart sank.

"Dam you Xehanort, you never did like to leave your possessions unprotected." He muttered as he took his first crack at the code. K-I-N-G-D-O-M H-E-A-R-T-S he typed into the oversized glowing black keyboard. The font on the screen changed from green to red.

"Invalid security code, try again." The robotic voice beeped at him. Riku sighed as he racked his brains for a better answer. He then took another shot at it and tried something less obvious. X B-L-A-D-E he pounded into the keys quickly before pressing enter. Once again the screen flickered to red.

"Invalid security code, you have one attempt left before lockdown." The computer mocked him. Riku was infuriated by the oversized contraption.

"Crap. Ok Xehanort, what is something you would use that no one else knew of at the time you created this….ah hah!" He exclaimed as he came up with an answer.

S-E-E-K-E-R-S O-F D-A-R-K-N-E-S-S

He waited anxiously as the machine determined if his guess was correct. The screen flickered from green to blue after analyzing it.

"Access Granted." The computer voice replied in its monotone fashion. Rikus eyes lit up with delight. The computer pulled up several windows resuming where it had last been used. He skimmed through them only to find out that they contained useless information. He began closing them by clicking the red x in each corner.

"No I'm not interested in buying a guitar ***click***. No I definitely don't want to buy used rifles either ***click***. A recipe for sea-salt ice cream…maybe I'll come back to that ***click***. How to get a proper tan, response is to avoid the moon and love the sun…***click***. Hot poker tips and tricks, no thank you ***click***. The real ending to Disney's Beauty and the Beast…what? Never mind that then ***click***. Xemnas's personal files DO NOT OPEN. I think I found what I'm looking for!" Riku exclaimed. He quickly opened the folder to reveal several more folders, he sure liked his stuff organized.

"Artificial Kingdom Hearts database, diary entries, recipes, heartless sighting information, castle security system, the replication program…" Riku paused as he whispered that last name. "The replication program…why does that sound familiar?" He asked himself as he opened it. The screen was suddenly overtaken by a large field of text describing just about everything he wanted to know. From the day the project was started, to the end of the remaining puppets life. It read.

**Replication Program Database**

Goal of experiment is to create an artificial life form that is capable of taking on human like qualities, as well as the ability to wield the keyblade and serve the organization as a member. Experiment is scheduled to take place at Castle Oblivion before the other members are dispatched there.

Experiment was successful in producing 4 bodies capable of taking on identities of their own. However only one was determined to be suitable for wearing the coat. Vexen had taken one with him to Castle Oblivion to experiment on. As for the remaining two I have hidden them at the source of all heartless that bear the emblem. They should remain safe for future use. Information gathered about the created subjects is recorded by profile below.

Puppet #1: Number IV Xion

Was named so that it fit into our Organization

Within a few days she began absorbing Sora's memories through Roxas, as expected, she then took on the appearance of the seventh princess of heart known as Kairi

The puppet was able to wield keyblade and resemble a copy of the keyblade wielder known as Sora overtime

Appeared to exhibit emotions at certain times. Which is rather odd since she is truly the only member here that does not have a heart

Unfortunately the puppet soon became dysfunctional and unstable after her 1st capture, something may have happened to her but this is likely due to being overused and could eventually have shut down permanently

Xion escaped and was captured a 2nd time, Axel managed to bring her back in one piece, but just barely. I restored her to full strength and gave her a few new abilities, she was then ordered to destroy Roxas for betraying the Organization

The puppet was destroyed by Number XIII Roxas in a battle at Twilight Town. If the puppet was successful in defeating him she would have merged her powers with his to form an even more formidable weapon. Which would have likely resembled the unstable X-blade I formed in the past.

Puppet #2: Dark Riku

Was created from data Vexen collected while fighting the real Riku

Its original purpose was to challenge Sora and cause him to fall into Marluxias plot to overthrow the Organization

However its memory was then modified by Namine to believe that Sora's memories were his memories

After relentlessly challenging Sora several times Namine managed to shatter its willpower by telling it to stop, as a result the puppet fainted and regained his real memories

It was destroyed in Twilight Town by the real Riku

Puppet #3: No name

Exhibited some signs of vocal recognition and grew accustomed to my voice

Subject was able to follow simple orders such as sit or walk

When given objects to choose from and interact with, the subject chose the yellow stuffed animal bear and cradled it as if it were an infant

Did not show any signs of being able to wield a weapon

Was deemed usable but was unfit for Organization Status

Puppet #4: No name

Obeyed no one that gave it an order and attempted to harm those that approached it

Was capable of wielding a weapon

When given objects to interact with it chose the sea shells, it arranged them in various ways and lashed out at anyone that dared to disturb its precise order

Was deemed usable but unfit for Organization status

Riku set his head down gently on the keyboard. His head was throbbing in pain as he relived one of his most painful flashbacks yet. As he closed his eyes the scene of the cramped computer room faded away and then slowly formed into the town center of Twilight Town. He was wearing the organization cloak that he wore to go undercover last year, walking by his side however a girl also wearing an identical outfit with short black hair and stunning blue eyes was looking up at him in admiration. Listening intently to whatever he said. As he sank further into this memory he could slowly begin to hear the sound of the town folk nearby and eventually the sound of her soothing gentle voice.

"So Riku, about this red haired girl you called Kairi. Do you like her?" Xion asked timidly. The two of them were walking down the tan cobblestone paths set up around the area. The orange roofed trolley could be seen in the distance as well as several shops selling various goods. Riku chuckled slightly at her silly question.

"Well of course I like Kairi, after all she is one of my friends." He replied with a laugh. Xion shook her head, apparently he was missing something.

"No what I meant was do you really like her, did you…oh whats that word again…" She got stuck on that last word; her sheltered mind only knew so much about what feelings were. Riku immediately got the hint about what she was getting at, he could feel his cheeks blush slightly as he thought about his past feelings.

"You mean love. No I don't love Kairi, at least not like I used to." He admitted sheepishly. Xion smiled at his lie and grabbed a hold of his gloved hand.

"You still love her, maybe not as much though since she seems to be more interested in Sora than you." She then fell silent for a moment. "At least that's what his memories seem to indicate to me. Love…I wish I could feel it. But who am I kidding, I don't have a heart…I'm just a shell… a puppet… a sham." She suddenly shook her hand free of his grip and shielded her eyes from his view. Rikus heart sank as he watched her sob. This was all his fault and he knew it, if he had never fought her in the first place she could have remained completely oblivious as to her true self. Forever protecting her from the pain of truth.

"Xion I…I'm so sorry. I should have never called you a sham that night; I guess I never realized that I would soon see you as someone much greater than that." Riku apologized nervously. He put his arm over shoulders to try and comfort her. She then slowly lowered her hand from her face and looked up at him; tears were still in dwelling in her crystal blue eyes, making them sparkle in the twilight sky.

"Then what do you think of me now?" She asked softly. Her body was trembling from all of her agony and despair, and she had refused to eat since Riku had saved her yesterday and brought her to the islands. Riku suddenly felt an impulse to hug her, it took all of his willpower to resist this urge but he refused to bow down to his instincts.

"I see you, as Kairi. You're sweet and innocent, kind and gentle, and incredibly frail at times, but you can make up for that by putting up one heck of a fight. It's taken me some time to have thought this over, but, I really have taken a liking to you Xion. And I only hope that you have done the same." He whispered in her ear. Xion's eyes widened with surprise, she then suddenly wrapped her arms around his back and rested her head on his chest. Riku was taken aback by this sudden action but soon pulled himself together and returned the act of kindness by kissing her forehead gently.

"I do like you Riku, I really truly do, even if I don't have a heart, I still have feelings of my own." She spoke softly as she closed her eyes blissfully. Riku did nothing but stroked her silky smooth hair with his free hand. This moment could have lasted forever in his head, unfortunately for Riku, there is a time when everyone must stop reliving their dreams.

Riku suddenly sat up in front of the computer breathing heavily; he felt cold and discovered that he was covered with sweat. Attempting to forget about his past he tried to focus back on the task at hand. He clicked the print button on the report and a full copy of it emerged from the printer by his feet. He swiftly reached his hand down and grabbed a hold of the precious documents. After he had tucked them away in his pants pocket he stood up and prepared to depart. Just as he walked towards the elevator however, a grey gloved hand swooped down and struck the back of his neck, instantly knocking him out.

Riku swayed for a moment before falling straight to the floor unconsciously. Aeleus stepped out of the corner he had been hidden in, he brushed his hands and glared at his victim amusedly.

"What the hell was that for! He was just about to leave Aeleus, you didn't have to go and knock him out!" Ienzo snapped at him. Pointing his finger from Riku to Aeleus. Aeleus just chuckled as he glanced at Ienzos expression.

"I was settling the score, now Riku and I are even. And besides we needed him to unlock the computer first so that we could steal all of the information that our leader wants." Pointed out Aeleus. Ienzo grunted as he continued to mutter slurs of complaints while he searched the computer database. Aeleus observed Ienzo intently as he worked, wondering why on earth their leader wanted them to retrieve this information from the computer so badly. A light portal suddenly opened up behind them, causing the duo two jump in surprise as a third grey cloaked figure strolled out of its depths. The newcomer admired the body laying on the floor before looking back up at Ienzo and Aeleus.

His shoulder length spiky pink hair flowed softly as he walked towards the two of them. Leaving behind a trail of pink rose petals wherever he walked. This man had a stern expression on his face and crossed his arms with displeasure.

"What is taking so long here, all I asked you to do was hack the computer, not assassinate people!" He snarled. Aeleus motioned for him to calm down.

"Easy Lumiara, were almost done with business here we just had a few minor complications get in our way." He explained while pointing out Riku.

"Fine take your time here, just don't forget to bring him back with you when you return. I have a few…requests for that boy when he awakens." Said Lumiara as he stepped back into the portal and vanished. Leaving behind a bewildered Ienzo and Aeleus, with a boy who had no idea what was in store for him.

To be continued…

So what do you think! I bet none of you suspected that Marluxia (Lumiara) came back in this story as well. Or better yet that Ienzo and Aeleus are on his side now! I won't be giving away any details about what those three are up to, but it will all be explained in the next chapter. And I repeat I probably will not be doing any first person writing ever again for this story, I just couldn't help but include that one tiny part though from the preview back into here…..oh well.

Thanks for reading and please review! Or favorite it…or if anything you could just say hi for no reason…..(I need to get some sleep)

Be back with chapter 5 soon! (if scholarships don't get in the way)


	5. Chapter 5: Rising Forces

Ok now, there really is no other way to put this so I'm just going to try and make it obvious.

I…am….

So

So

Really

Truly

Deeply

Desperately

Insanely

Remorsefully

Indefinitely

Sorry for not updating this for a really loooooooong time. I have no excuse other than my life had to take over again. So for those of you that have waited I hope you can forgive me and I sincerely thank you for your supreme patience.

This is a preview of the upcoming chapter I am currently working on, and I will post it by this weekend or …or….I don't know what would happen.

I hope you enjoy!

**Kingdom Hearts III Xehanorts Ambitions**

**Chapter 5 PREVIEW**

**Rising Forces**

The sunny blue afternoon sky of destiny islands had quickly diminished into a starry filled sky. Sora and Kairi were sitting at the edge of the dock listening to the sound of the wave's splash over their bare feet. Sora was still shirtless from swimming earlier, but Kairi had thrown back on her shirt and skirt and was resting her head against his right shoulder. Sora's arm was wrapped around her waist to support her from falling on the dock.

"Hey Kairi, remember when we used to think that those were just stars in the sky?" Asked Sora.

Kairi sighed and then looked deeply into Sora's blue eyes. "And that a little over a year ago we were sitting in this same spot dying to see what awaited us outside this world?" She replied with a smile. Sora chuckled as he stroked her cheek softly. Kairi blushed but then turned her gaze towards the sky again.

"Do you remember what I told you that night Sora?" She asked quietly, afraid that he might have forgotten.

Sora then reached into his shorts pocket and pulled out a star shaped pink hued charm and held it front of Kairi's face. "You told me to never change who I am." He said before pecking her on the cheek. "A promise that I have always met for you my dear."

Kairi giggled, as the tension faded away. "Yep you're definitely the same goofy boy who's always been there for me after all these years." She then motioned for Sora to hand her the charm, he continued to dangle it in front of her before she snatched it. She then stood up and walked over to her purse on the beach, Sora followed, wondering what she was up to. Kairi pulled something out of her bag and appeared to be attaching it to the charm. Sora peeked his head over her shoulder but Kairi swatted him away.

"Back off nosy, you'll see it in a moment." She said as she tediously worked on the thlassa charm. Sora sighed and slipped back on his plaid shirt. Slowly he fumbled with the buttons while waiting for her, he stopped at the top two and left them open to give him some air.

"Done! Now close your eyes…" Said Kairi. Sora smiled as he closed his eyes down to a crack, as he saw Kairi reached up over his head she noticed this and swatted his nose.

"Ow! Again with the cruelty?" Sora joked.

"No peeking!" Kairi teased him. She then lifted her arms over his head again and placed the newly modified thlassa charm around his neck. "Ok you can look now!" She told him eagerly.

Sora looked down at the charm and admired it with his hand, a small yellow star that resembled a paupou fruit now dangled at the bottom of the chain. He then looked back up at her, curious for an answer.

"It's to symbolize the start of our relationship, maybe one day we'll actually share one ourselves." Said Kairi sheepishly as she blushed intensely.

Sora then wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her into his chest. They looked deeply into each other's eyes before Sora spoke. "I don't think we need a piece of fruit to symbolize anything, because I already know in my heart that our destinies were meant to be intertwined with one another." Kairi's eyes widened with surprise as he then kissed her tenderly on the lips. He then broke off for a moment to see Kairi's reaction. She then smiled like she never had before and threw herself onto him for a full-fledged kiss.

Sora swung his right arm under her legs and twirled her around to complete the kiss. Kairi's silky brown hair twirled around the back of his neck as he set her back down. Suddenly the two broke off at the sound of clapping. Sora and Kairi searched for the noise only to find two familiar cloaked men standing before them.

A dark haired man with a ponytail and an eye patch continued to applaud obnoxiously. On his right a blue haired man with an X shaped scar on his forehead grinned mischievously.

"Bravo, Bravo Sora! You really have grown since I last saw you at Castle Oblivion! What a show the best romance I must have seen in YEARS!" Braig continued to exaggerate for the hell of it. Isa then motioned for him to stop as he approached Sora.

"Let's cut to down to the crap shall we Braig?" Said Isa as he pointed at Sora.

"Wh-What do you want?" Demanded Sora through clenched teeth. His chest was burning with the same sharp pain he had experienced around the mysterious cloaked man before.

"We want your thlassa charm. Now hand it over." Isa said fiercely as he continued to hold out his hand in offering.

"Why would you want it?" Kairi asked Isa, a hint of fear lingered in her voice as her eyes flitted between Sora clutching his heart in pain and the two cold men before her.

"Not really much of your business sweet heart, top secret orders from the big X-man himself." Said Braig as he waved his finger tauntingly.

"Now hand it over!" Isa demanded more furiously than before.

"Never!" Cried out Sora as he raised his hand and swiped it down sharply. After a bright flash and the sound of clanging metal the Kingdom Key Keyblade materialized in his hands.

"You're really going to take us both on alone?" Questioned Isa.

"No he's not!" Kairi yelled back. She mimicked Sora's movement and summoned her Keyblade and nervously pointed it at Isa.

"HA! This is to rich Isa! You're going to take us on too? HAHAHAHA!" Braig continued to mock the two for his own amusement while Isa drew out his Lunatic Claymore and pointed it back at Kairi.

"Seriously princess, don't get cute with us we just want the charm." Said Isa.

"Kairi don't fight get out of here!" Commanded Sora.

"No way! Remember what you said earlier? Were meant to be together so I'll always have your back!" Kairi retorted. Sora looked over at her and met her gaze. He finally nodded in agreement.

"Alright then you two were not handing it over so you better be ready to fight for it and lose!" Sora taunted.

Braig finally stopped laughing and summoned his signature Arrowguns. "I've been loaded up for this all day so bring it! Keyblade to Keyblade!" He cried out as he directed his guns at Sora.

"You chose a bad night to fight with me." Said Isa as he pointed at the bright fluorescent full moon in the starry night sky. He then raised his Claymore towards the moon. Within moments a flash of blue light occurred and he entered his berserk mode. His yellow eyes glinted demonically and his blue hair flowed manically in his radiating aura. Isa bared his fangs at Sora and Kairi.

"Get ready Kairi!" Sora yelled at her as he charged at Isa with his Keyblade.

(End of Preview)

Once again thank you for reading and I'll be back this week! No ifs, ands, or buts about it!


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